meaningful homework ideas

Articles / Homework

Smart Homework: 13 Ways to Make It Meaningful

by MiddleWeb · Published 08/04/2014 · Updated 11/17/2019

In the first installment of Rick Wormeli’s homework advice, he made the case for take-home assignments that matter for learning and engage student interest . In Part 2, Rick offers some guiding principles that can help teachers create homework challenges that motivate kids and spark deeper learning in and out of school.

These articles are adapted and updated from Rick’s seminal book about teaching in the middle grades, Day One & Beyond: Practical Matters for New Middle Level Teachers . Rick continues to offer great advice about homework, differentiation, assessment and many other topics in workshops and presentations across North America. Check back in Part 1 for some additional homework resources.

I’ve been accumulating guiding principles for creating highly motivating homework assignments for many years — from my own teaching and from the distilled wisdom of others. Here are a baker’s dozen. Choose the ones most appropriate for students’ learning goals and your curriculum.

1. Give students a clear picture of the final product. This doesn’t mean everything is structured for them, or that there aren’t multiple pathways to the same high quality result. There’s room for student personalities to be expressed. Students clearly know what is expected, however. A clear picture sets purpose for doing the assignment. Priming the brain to focus on particular aspects of the learning experience helps the brain process the information for long-term retention. Setting purpose for homework assignments has an impact on learning and the assignment’s completion rate, as research by Marzano and others confirms.

2. Incorporate a cause into the assignment. Middle level students are motivated when they feel they are righting a wrong. They are very sensitive to justice and injustice. As a group, they are also very nurturing of those less fortunate than them. Find a community or personal cause for which students can fight fairly and incorporate your content and skills in that good fight— students will be all over the assignment.

4. Incorporate people whom students admire in their assignments. Students are motivated when asked to share what they know and feel about these folks. We are a society of heroes, and young adolescents are interested in talking about and becoming heroic figures.

5. Allow choices, as appropriate. Allow students to do the even-numbered or odd-numbered problems, or allow them to choose from three prompts, not just one. Let them choose the word that best describes the political or scientific process. Let them identify their own diet and its effects on young adolescent bodies. Let them choose to work with partners or individually. How about allowing them to choose from several multiple-intelligence based tasks? If they are working in ways that are comfortable, they are more likely to do the work. By making the choice, they have upped their ownership of the task.

6. Incorporate cultural products into the assignment. If students have to use magazines, television shows, foods, sports equipment, and other products they already use, they are likely to do the work. The brain loves to do tasks in contexts with which it is familiar.

7. Allow students to collaborate in determining how homework will be assessed. If they help design the criteria for success, such as when they create the rubric for an assignment, they “own” the assignment. It comes off as something done by them, not to them. They also internalize the expectations—another way for them to have clear targets.

With some assignments we can post well-done versions from previous years (or ones we’ve created for this purpose) and ask students to analyze the essential characteristics that make these assignments exemplary. Students who analyze such assignments will compare those works with their own and internalize the criteria for success, referencing the criteria while doing the assignment, not just when it’s finished.

9. Spruce up your prompts. Don’t ask students to repeatedly answer questions or summarize. Try some of these openers instead: Decide between, argue against, Why did ______ argue for, compare, contrast, plan, classify, retell ______ from the point of view of ______, Organize, build, interview, predict, categorize, simplify, deduce, formulate, blend, suppose, invent, imagine, devise, compose, combine, rank, recommend, defend, choose.

10. Have everyone turn in a paper. In her classic, Homework: A New Direction (1992), Neila Connors reminded teachers to have all students turn in a paper, regardless of whether they did the assignment. If a student doesn’t have his homework, he writes on the paper the name of the assignment and why he didn’t do it.

11. Do not give homework passes. I used to do this; then I realized how much it minimized the importance of homework. It’s like saying, “Oh, well, the homework really wasn’t that important to your learning. You’ll learn just as well without it.” Homework should be so productive for students that missing it is like missing the lesson itself.

12. Integrate homework with other subjects. One assignment can count in two classes. Such assignments are usually complex enough to warrant the dual grade and it’s a way to work smarter, not harder, for both students and teachers. Teachers can split the pile of papers to grade, then share the grades with each other, and students don’t have homework piling up in multiple classes.

There are times when every teacher on the team assigns a half-hour assignment, and so do the elective or encore class teachers. This could mean three to four hours of homework for the student, which is inappropriate for young adolescents.

13. Occasionally, let students identify what homework would be most effective. Sometimes the really creative assignments are the ones that students design themselves. After teaching a lesson, ask your students what it would take to practice the material so well it became clearly understood. Many of the choices will be rigorous and very appropriate.

This is one reason I always recommend that, as a basic premise, we avoid Monday morning quizzes and weekend or holiday homework assignments. Sure, there will be exceptions when long-term projects come due. But if we are really about teaching so that students learn and not about appearing rigorous and assigning tasks to show that we have taught, then we’ll carefully consider all the effects of our homework expectations. Our students will be more productive at school for having healthier lives at home.

▶ More resources from Rick Wormeli:

Although Rick never mentions the word homework in this article about helping adolescent students improve their “executive function,” you will immediately see the connections! At the AMLE website .

NEXT: In our final excerpt from Day One & Beyond, Rick Wormeli shares his approach to homework assessment – with an clear emphasis on maintaining teacher sanity.

His books include Meet Me in the Middle ; Day One and Beyond ; Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessment and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom ; Differentiation: From Planning to Practice; Metaphors & Analogies: Power Tools for Teaching Any Subject, and Summarization in Any Subject , plus The Collected Writings (So Far) of Rick Wormeli: Crazy Good Stuff I Learned about Teaching Along the Way .

He is currently working on his first young adult fiction novel and a new book on homework practices in the 21 st century.

4 Responses

Pingbacks 0

This is a really great article. It has helped me tremendously in making new and better decisions about homework.

Fabulous sage advice! Although I love every single suggestion you’ve included, I am particularly fond of the elimination of the “homework pass”. As a former middle-level teacher and administrator, I too found the homework pass diminished the importance of follow-up work – a necessary component in determining the level of student understanding.

I do give 2 passes, but they just extend due date by a day. And if not used, they may be returned at the end of the 9 weeks for extra credit.

Rick Wormeli’s ideas and tips in this article continue to be stimulating and useful. That said, it’s been more than a decade since the first edition of his book on grading, homework and assessment, Fair Isn’t Always Equal appeared.

In the intervening years, Rick’s thinking about homework has benefited from his work with teachers and in schools and plenty of debate. In April 2018, he published a new 2nd edition of Fair Isn’t Always Equal that includes an even deeper discussion of homework and its relationship to best practice, differentiation, and the moral obligation of educators to insist on effective homework policies.

Visitors to the Stenhouse page for the new book can preview the *entire* text for free, so be sure to check that out.

Here’s a brief excerpt from the new book:

Tenet: Homework should enable students to practice what they have already learned in class and should not present new content for the first time. Principled Responses:

• I will not assign homework to students who do not understand the content. • I will give homework to some students and no homework or different assignments to others, depending on their proficiency. • I will use exit slips and formative assessment during class so I can determine proper after-school practice for each student. • I will not give homework because parents and administrators expect me to do so, or assign homework because it’s a particular day of the week. • I will assign homework only if it furthers students’ proficiency in the field we’re studying.

Thanks to Rick for giving us permission to share this!

Sign Up & Receive the Latest News about Our Content…

Email address:

First Name:

Read our Privacy Policy

BOOK REVIEWS

Strategies for Teaching Against Disinformation

The Democratic Roots Essential to Literacy

How to Reclaim Your Energy, Passion, & Time

A Leadership Blueprint for Growth and Success

A How-to Guide to Better Engage Your Students

10 Tools to Help Kids Develop Their Talents

The Reading Strategies Book Gets an Update

Opportunities for Swift Achievement Gains

Teaching for Retention, Application and Transfer

Strategies to Adjust ‘Up’ What Students Know

Assuring Just, Inclusive Learning for Newcomers

Building Bridges That Cultivate Teacher Growth

SEL, Civic Engagement, & a Healthy Democracy

An Enhanced Edition of ‘When Kids Can’t Read’

Shifting to Asset-Based Literacy Assessments

Bringing the Science of Reading into Grades 3-5

Class Libraries to Inspire and Challenge Readers

Strategies to Integrate AI into Every Classroom

Our Mission

Making Homework Meaningful

One thing that teaches the lessons of accountability, responsibility, diligence and an appreciation for knowledge is homework. Every student has to do it, and for most kids, it is a necessity in order to do well in school. But its usefulness and whether it's taken seriously are always topics of conversation among students.

A Survey of Homework Habits

In elementary school, we are brought up to do homework, and some kids like myself are lucky enough to have their parents there to reiterate that message. We are taught that homework is important for making the information stick in our brains so that we are ready for the next day's lesson. Beginning around middle school, kids start to question the importance of homework, and that continues into high school, where a definitive rift among students is formed.

Once I decided this post would be on the topic of homework, I set out to talk to students from multiple backgrounds, and with varying degrees of work ethic and success, about their thoughts and experiences around homework.

Starting with students in the top 10% academically, I learned that they all do their homework, plus extra studying on a nightly/weekly basis. Their mottos all seem to be along the lines of "I've built this into my routine" and "I have to do homework or else I won't do well and keep my grades up." These students push themselves and will continue to do well because they see the value of homework.

There are a few exceptions in this group, though. There always are a few students who make it into the top of the class and can get by without doing homework. From what I have experienced and heard, they tend to be auditory learners -- they listen intently in class and can retain the information without having to put it into their heads more than once.

The middle of the road students and those in danger of failing tend to tell me that they don't do any homework. The reasons that they cite include the fact that, under the policy of many schools, homework can count for only 5% or less of a student's overall grade. So if it doesn't count towards a grade, the reasoning goes, why bother? This is unfair to the teachers who have to continuously re-teach material, and to the other students who must endure listening to the same material over again.

A related reason these students don't do their homework is that they don't believe it will help them. It's been so long since they've done homework that they have either forgotten or never learned how -- and thus never reaped its benefits.

Time Management, Resources and Context

Here are a few ways that students I've talked to have had success, which I present with a couple of fresh ideas.

1) Use In-School Time

Doing homework during extra time in school helps. When students have the opportunity to do some of their homework in school with a large support base, I've noticed that they tend to get more out of it, and finish more. Yes, there are the exceptions, i.e., distractions, friends and goofing around. But the students that use the time wisely are no strangers to the ends justifying the means.

2) Do Homework in Period Order

Complete assignments in the order they are due the next day. Many students will suggest this as a means of making sure it all gets done. Setting it out by period and going in order has helped me in the past. A problem, though, is that it often encourages procrastination. When students set their work out like this, they are more likely to picture where their free time is during the school day and imagine themselves doing it then.

3) Use Social Media!

As I discussed in my previous blog post, kids love technology and are highly knowledgeable in social media. One thing I've often thought about is creating groups for classes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If a student is having trouble with a particular problem, they should be encouraged to seek help from a teacher or student that can respond with a picture of their own work within seconds. If schools started encouraging teachers to work this into just a few classes, I think we would see improvements in the quality of homework completed.

4) Make Real World Connections

What could be a better way of answering students' biggest question -- "When am I ever going to use this?" -- than by showing them? There are many ways this could be done. Teachers could assign students the task of finding their own applications of certain principles at home, such as how electrical circuits can illustrate a concept for physics class, or how chemistry is applied in the kitchen. Or you could give them a list of things to notice at home or around town. For example, my town is right on the Erie Canal, and it has more heritage and history than most small towns. But when we study the era in history class, we never go out of the building and realize that it's right there.

From Day One of school, homework needs to be shown as important and assigned as something substantial, not busy work. As we continue to move into the digital age, I am sure homework will change -- along with most everything else.

What are some other examples of meaningful homework you've seen?

Trending Post : 12 Powerful Discussion Strategies to Engage Students

What is Meaningful Homework?

What is meaningful homework? In middle and high school, stereotypical visions of students weighed down by heavy backpacks and up all hours of the night completing packets and studying for large exams abound. Of course, those of us in education know this is typically not what an average homework load entails.

Still, schools are all over the board with the type and amount of homework they assign, ranging from none to quite a bit. Some parents worry about the homework load, and others think it’s a sign of a quality education.

With plenty of questions and not enough answers, I decided to do some research. Homework tends to be just “TOO…” sometimes… too much, too little, too easy, too frustrating, and even – too antiquated.

As I dug into my research question – What is meaningful homework? – I hoped I’d find a clear answer.

Well, I didn’t. There is not one correct answer for the homework dilemma. When I combine what I’ve learned with my own teaching experiences, it really depends upon your context, your students’ needs, your purpose, and much, much more. In this post, I’m writing about some of the key elements of my learning.

These findings are intended for secondary classrooms.

The Purpose of Homework

In order to tackle this huge research question, I needed to narrow it. So I started thinking about the purpose of homework. Why do we assign it?

Reflecting on my own mistakes, I thought about times I had over-planned my lessons. Too much to do in one class period? Just assign the rest as homework!

Then, there’s the facade of homework. If you aren’t assigning it, are you a rigorous teacher? Surely, a class students would learn something from would be assigning homework, right?

Of course, I also thought about the “tradition” of homework. As a student, I’d always been assigned homework. In almost every class! I remember filling in my student planner. Every day, I’d have a homework assignment written down after each class period I attended.

But, when I considered the “purpose” of each of these uses of homework, (o ver-planning? appearances? tradition? ) I had to admit…none of those reasons benefits student learning. This realization brought me back to a narrower version of my original research question.

What is the purpose of homework?

Using research from John Hattie and Robert Marzano, I was able to come to a strong conclusion. Meaningful homework should always add value to the learning process for teachers and students. And that has become my reflective mantra. Is it adding value?

Teachers are experts in their field. Teacher expertise plays a role in good instruction, which impacts homework quality. #Homework #SecondaryELA

Teacher Expertise and Meaningful Homework

Data-driven teaching.

Meaningful homework should provide teachers with data to drive teaching . If I assign work, put it in a tidy binder-clipped pile, and then file it in the dark recesses behind my desk, what value is that adding to my teaching?

When students submit work, I want them to know that I’m using that work as data to make meaningful instructional decisions. That begins with standards alignment .

What types of questions or skills are students needing more practice with? Which areas are they already showing strength? Does the homework data indicate any subgroups need intervention or reteaching?

Sometimes this information is gathered as students are working on homework, and other times it’s gathered upon collection.

Once we have the data, homework is meaningful if we do something with it. We can make instructional decisions that impact the next day’s lesson or overall unit for the entire class or for small groups of students.

An Extension of Good Instruction

For teachers, meaningful homework is also an extension of good instruction . In other words, if we are maximizing our classroom teaching time, our homework will be more meaningful. For example’s sake, let’s consider the novel unit.

If we have students listen to an audio recording of a novel for forty-five minutes and then send them home to finish packets about the reading, we haven’t maximized our instructional time. Why are students spending the entire instructional period listening to a novel? Maybe it’s because they wouldn’t read the novel outside of class or because it’s too challenging for them to read independently. In both cases, using a shorter text for a mini-lesson in a reading workshop format would provide opportunities to maximize instructional time, teach standards, get to know our students as readers, and differentiate for learners based on what they need.

Teacher expertise – the decisions we make about what we are teaching in class and how we approach it will impact the quality of homework we assign.

7 ways to take the bore out of homework for students #Homework #MiddleSchool #HighSchool

Student Perceptions about Homework

For students, meaningful homework should enhance learning . Several key factors influence students’ attitudes toward homework.

Is it engaging?

While the sole purpose of homework is not to engage students, they are, of course, more likely to complete work they find engaging. We have to be careful with this one though because it’s easy to sacrifice the standards-aligned integrity of an assignment for sake of bells and whistles. One question I’ve started to ask is, “ Can I make it more engaging? ” The answer is not always yes, but simply reflecting on this question or brainstorming with a colleague or coach can help inspire new ideas.

Does it feel like busywork?

A deal-breaker for students is busywork. They can sense it coming a mile away. Busywork makes students question whether the homework is worth their time, and often, it angers or frustrates them. Crossword puzzles, tech-heavy assignments, and intricate coloring projects come to mind when I think of busywork. You, I’m sure, can add your own connections to that list.

Do they know why?

Sometimes, students perceive work to be busywork because they don’t understand the value of the assignment. If we frame the “why” for them, they’ll be part of the bigger picture.

Is it concise?

When creating homework assignments, we can also consider how long it will take students to complete. Doing the assignment ourselves is a good first step. For instance, when I first started with digital one pagers , I thought they would be something students could complete in one assignment. After doing the work myself, however, I had helpful insights about how to make it more concise. Chunking each step and pairing it with a reading-related mini lesson was going to be more concise for students, more beneficial for learning, and less overwhelming for all. It would be more respectful of students’ time.

With distance learning, meaningful homework most likely means less homework. Since students are already spending an unordinary amount of time in front of a screen, homework assignments should be concise, and – if possible – something that can be completed away from a device.

Does it allow for voice and choice?

Is there any way students can be part of the homework decision-making process? Building in options with choice boards, playlists, or differentiated tasks can help. Allowing them to choose their topics for writing assignments or select books for literature units, book clubs , and independent reading are sound choices as well. I’ve used exit tickets and entrance slips to allow students a way to decide what we do the next day. These are a natural part of reader’s and writer’s workshop.

Is it focused on critical thinking?

Students easily tire of lower-level skill assignments. Comprehension questions, grammar worksheets, writing vocabulary definitions. We can elevate thinking with homework assignments to engage students. Just for an example, focusing on higher-order thinking skills means moving from…

vocabulary memorization to making image associations
grammar identification practice to using grammar elements in writing or finding them in readings
multiple choice comprehension questions to analyzing how themes relate to real life

Whenever possible, homework should be crafted so that students can be successful independently but so that they still find it interesting and intellectually challenging . For instance, sketchnotes are a naturally differentiated task students can use to process what they have learned away from the screen.

Will they receive feedback?

When students know they will receive feedback on their work, it makes homework more meaningful. They often wonder, Will the teacher even read this? And, I’m sure you’ve seen students who plug in random sentences, like the lines to the “Pledge of Allegiance” because they assume their work is not valuable enough to be read. Imagine toiling over an assignment, turning it in proud of your hard work, only to realize it will never be read or acknowledged. If it’s happened to you, you know how quickly that leads to disenchantment.

Meaningful homework decision tree; middle and high school homework considerations #Homework #MiddleSchool #HighSchool

Ultimately, teachers are experts. If we know the homework we are assigning will benefit student learning and help us drive instruction…if we know it will be respectful of their time, home lives, and resources, it’s okay to assign work students don’t love. Cell phones, video games, and social media are difficult distractions to compete with. Even after we’ve done our best to create relevant, meaningful assignments, students may not want to thank us for assigning homework.

Building-Level Considerations for Homework

Meaningful homework conversations are beneficial topics for teams and departments to explore over the course of an entire year. Having intentional, reflective conversations is key.

Define Homework

Begin by defining homework. It’s not uncommon for educators to be on different pages. For instance, is it considered homework if it’s assigned near the end of the period and students are given time to work on it? If they use their time wisely, they should finish, but there are no guarantees. Is this homework? In my mind, it is, but homework conversations are more valuable when a common understanding is reached.

Cross-Subject Conversations

Together, teachers can explore how they can consider the homework load students experience throughout an entire day and work together to space out due dates for student stressors, like projects, research papers, and tests. Create a shared document the team can reference as they lesson plan.

Cultural Context

As a group, you can explore the cultural context of your school. Homework is not inherently bad or good, and its benefit always depends on how much your student body needs. If you work in a district where homework is never completed, assigning it and adding zeros to the grade book is detrimental to students.

Some students do not have access to technology at home, and with the recent increase of online learning, the digital divide and homework gap is widening. How can you identify whether students 1) are not willing, 2) are not able, or 3) are not organized enough to do their homework? And, what supports does your school or can your school put in place for students who do not or are not able to complete homework?

Involving Families

Conversations around how to involve families in the homework process are helpful as well. Teachers need parent partnerships and support to create environments where students can focus and prioritize school work. Assignments that extend to family and life are more authentic and relevant. Students can have conversations with their parents about themes in literature or add value to historical contexts. Always, we need to be sensitive to the diverse backgrounds of our students. We cannot expect them to complete work that requires resources and time families cannot provide.

Reflect on Research

Spend some time throughout the year finding and sharing research about homework. Analyzing research through the lens of what is right and true for your own situation can help you decide where you fall on the homework continuum. What does the research say? Why do people disagree? What existing beliefs might need to be highlighted or challenged?

The Continuum

Making these conversations specific is important. One way to do this is to come up with example homework assignments – research papers, word searches, flashcards, flipped lessons, etcetera – and have teams of teachers place them on a continuum from least to most meaningful. With most assignments, you’ll find that some teachers can think of a meaningful way to use that particular skill, and others can expose its disadvantages as a homework assignment. There is no “right” way to organize the lessons on a continuum. The value is in the conversation. Add a layer of fun by hosting an award ceremony following the continuum conversation. Here are a few example awards:

Most relevant to life
Best for spiral review
Most engaging and effective
Most likely to spark curiosity
Biggest waste of time

Meaningful homework means rethinking the entire practice. Moving away from the routine of homework allows us to reflect on the what, when, and why to create strategic, relevant, and purposeful assignments. Meaningful homework is the result of intentional, regular reflective conversations that happen over time. Involving all stakeholders in the conversation at some level will result in decisions that are more informed and respectful of students’ needs.

Get the latest in your inbox!

Grades 6-12
School Leaders

Get our FREE Mother's Day Printable 💐!

How to Give Meaningful Homework, Even When It’s Not Graded

“Is this going to be graded?” Oh, how we love to hear this.

Most students are motivated by grades and if they know that an assignment isn’t going to be graded, it becomes about as important to them as finding a good mutual fund to invest in for retirement. So how do you assign meaningful homework when your district has a policy that doesn’t allow for it to be graded?

It has taken several years for my team and I to figure out what works best in our classrooms, and we continue to tweak the process. Here are some strategies that we have come up with for meaningful homework assignments.

1. Assign quality over quantity.

As a math teacher, I was used to assigning upwards of twenty problems a night that were often repetitive and lacked depth. Depending on the subject, try to assign only a handful of problems that allow students to practice what they learned, and one or two that really challenge their critical thinking skills.

2. Encourage more.

Even if I’m only assigning a handful of problems, there are always more available. Try to narrow down the problems to cover a range of difficulty, and a variety of strategies that must be used. There’s still no way I can get students to do every type of problem I want them to practice and keep their homework manageable. Let students know that if they find the problems that were assigned to be difficult, then they need to do more on their own. Most will. Some will do it on the nightly homework, some will do it when studying for the test, but the students who want to do well will always do extra when they’re struggling.

3. Don’t grade it, but still kinda grade it.

Many teachers used to grade homework only on completion and that inflated students’ grades. If we grade only summative assessments, then the grade accurately reflects what students know, which is how it should be. But, it’s still nice to keep track of completion both for ourselves and for parents. It’s nice to be able to say, “Well, maaaaaaybe the reason your son isn’t doing well is that he only completes 40% of the homework.”

4. Put homework problems on assessments—and let the students know that you’re doing it.

I have taken homework problems and put the exact same problem on a quiz or test. When we go over the quiz or test, I tell my students, “If you did the practice problems I suggested the night before the test, this was one of them.” If students didn’t understand that doing the homework will help them on the assessments before they took it, this idea will quickly become very clear to them and they will want to start doing the homework.

5. Make it a requirement for something else.

My district also requires teachers to allow test retakes, and teachers can decide what makes a student eligible to retake. No homework? No retake. You may choose to require only a certain percentage of the work to be done. Or, you may require that no assignments were late. You might even allow the retake on the condition that they go back and make up work that was missing. If students didn’t make an effort to learn the material before the assessment, then they don’t get to retake.

6. Grade it.

I know, I know. I said we can’t grade it. BUT, we can if it’s NOT practice. If the concept has been taught previously and students have had time to practice multiple times and come in for help if they needed it, you can go ahead and assign it as homework and grade it. You might tell students that once a week you will collect homework and grade a review problem. Then do it – don’t make it an empty threat, make it part of your homework policy. You can even wait until you have gone over it in class before you collect it. The only excuse for not getting it correct is that they simply chose not to do it and not to fix it when given the opportunity.

7. Invite them to a homework party!

If you have students who habitually fall behind on the homework and show no interest in catching up, invite them to a homework party after school. Give them an invitation and let them know attendance is mandatory. (Yes, this is a detention, but it’s disguised as a party! Kids love parties!). Often, students who aren’t doing homework need the extra help anyway and won’t come in without you requiring it. Some students will be pushed to do the homework to avoid your super fun parties. The students who really need extra help will see this as a more positive alternative to a detention.

8. No homework, no test.

I’ve known teachers who would not allow a student to take a test until all the homework was done. This can be a nightmare, because some students will simply choose not to take the test either! (Then they get their invitation to the homework party.) This one works best when nothing else seems to work with the habitual homework avoiders who really do need the practice to be successful. It also works better when you provide additional help to the student so they can complete the work, since it’s very likely that they’re not doing it because they’re discouraged.

9. Let them choose.

This one is especially useful when faced with a chapter review which has dozens of problems. You know what’s going to happen if you tell them to pick ten problems. They will pick the ten easiest problems. But if you assign ten problems, you might be assigning problems that some students don’t really need to practice. Tell them to pick one problem in each group of 10 in order to do some easy problems and some advanced problems.

What are your strategies for creating meaningful homework? Please share in the comments.

How Do I Stop Students From Copying Each Other’s Homework Assignments?

Five steps that worked for me. Continue Reading

Make Homework Meaningful & Manageable with Menus

Are you looking for a new homework management solution try homework menus to motivate your students and differentiate through choice read on for tips on using homework menus plus free printables for 2nd and 3rd grade to get you started..

Looking for a new homework management solution? Try homework menus! Tips on how to organize your homework practices using menus to motivate your kids and differentiate through choice. Click for details PLUS free printables to get you started.

Teacher Homework Confession/Spoiler Alert:

I’ve never been a fan of homework – not as a child and definitely not as a teacher

Homework has been my pet project for awhile, as it’s always driven me crazy that parents, districts, and most administrators required I create and assign something that any research I’ve encountered deemed at worst detrimental or at best only mildly useful. Since I’ve rarely taught in an environment where not giving homework was an option, I’ve attempted to finagle a way to make homework as meaningful as possible for ALL of my students. No easy task, especially when there are so many other things worthy of our time and attention (literacy, math, arts instruction anyone?!)

I’ve tried: *Daily homework – everyone does the same thing, bring it back the next morning *Weekly homework folders – students complete a set schedule of assignments per week (Monday – spelling, Tuesday – math, Wednesday – reading response, etc.) *Homework packets – go home Monday, students finish in whatever order they choose, bring back Friday *Homework point sheets – students earn a specified amount of points for each homework assignment and earn a set amount of points each week

I’ve had varying amounts of success with all of the above as well as a good amount of failure.

The Research on Homework

After reading a variety of research about homework at the elementary level, I strongly believe that the most important part of homework for kids K-5 is reading a just right book. After that, the rest is – just that – the rest.

These two articles are good starting points if you are interested in an overview of the research on homework practices.

Synthesis of Research on Homework The Case For and Against Homework

Here were my takeaways from the articles (from a grade 2-3 perspective)

Homework should: •Give students a chance to review skills they are comfortable with and can practice independently •Give them an opportunity to do what they enjoy •Give students a chance to be successful at home with academics •Help children see connections between what they do in school and the real world

Homework should not: •Require parents to teach their child something new – let parents do the wrangling, not the teaching •Frustrate kids because of the difficulty of the assignment •Be one size fits all – we don’t teach this way, so why would we assign homework this way?

Homework Menus can be a Solution!

After 14 years of facing this homework conundrum I’ve found that homework menus are the easiest way to differentiate homework in a way that’s easy for teachers to assign and grade.

Plus they give you tons of flexibility so you can include exercise, listening to music, hanging out with family, practicing math facts or mindfulness as menu options.

You are still assigning homework, but getting to choose menu options that you know are really important for kids.

Homework menus give students choice within a structure and can be easily adapted to what you have already taught in class.

You only have to create one menu a month and collect homework assignments once per week (or even per month – although I wouldn’t recommend this – too much room for procrastination).

There are a few different ways to handle turn in of assignments for students who can’t handle the Friday only turn in option. I use homework bookmarks for 99% of my kids and a daily homework tracker for the kiddos who need a bit more daily accountability.

Getting Homework Menus up and Running

Want to try out homework menus? Here are a few things to know about getting organized.

At the beginning of every month you will need a new homework menu. Your menu (if you choose to do a monthly one like me) should include around 25 choices. Then you just need the printables and you’re ready to go. It’s work up front but it saves you time later.

To Do Monthly:

*Get copies of the homework menu ready for every student *Make 15-20 copies of the printable homework options you want to use *Make one set of answer keys for your homework grader (if you are lucky enough to have one) *Find a place to keep homework menu options (you can see some of mine in the pics) – I put them outside my room on plastic shelves so they’re easy to find before and after school

To Do Weekly:

*Make copies of homework bookmarks or trackers to send home *Enter homework in grade book and grade as you would like (If you don’t have a parent volunteer to help you, I say put a sticker on the homework bookmark and send that puppy home!)

To Do As Needed:

As you teach something in class, add it to your homework options folders, crate or shelves. If I have extra copies of a math or reading response assignment I always put them in the homework shelves for students to do as extra practice at home. These have been introduced to them in class and they should be able to complete them at home with minimal support. They can easily fit with the “Complete a math assignment you haven’t already done.” or “Complete a reading response/log” menu options. Even if I have something that doesn’t necessarily fit with a given option, I’ll let students know they can use it as a homework option (and let the parents know too) and write in the assignment they did instead of a number. Easy-peasy!

Homework Menus Frequently Asked Questions

Q: If homework doesn’t really matter anyway, then why even use a menu? Isn’t it just extra work that could be better spend elsewhere? A: I have always worked in schools where there was pressure either by the district, our school administration, or students’ parents to provide some sort of homework . (95% of the pressure came from parents in my experience.) Providing homework menus with age-appropriate options is my attempt to work within these expectations, while differentiating for every student and honoring their time. This is why exercise, listening to music, practicing mindfulness, and spending time interacting with family members have always been mainstays on my homework menus. I also like that the menu structure gives me opportunities to include math and reading review assignments that are beneficial for students, since they’re reviews of what we’ve already done in class.

Q: How do parents respond to this type of homework? A: Just like anything else you do in your classroom, some parents are 100% on board and think homework menus are the best thing ever, and others are not so easily persuaded. For the naysayers I use their questions as a jumping off point to explain what research says about homework in elementary grades and that truly my #1 concern is that their child is reading at home. For the most part parents have been very supportive of this type of homework and loved that it gave their child more freedom and less busy work. Kids are busy after school, and they loved that soccer practice and piano lessons (both great uses of after school time!) could be counted toward their weekly homework. Using menus also eliminates complaints from parents who constantly tell you their child isn’t being challenged by the work you’re sending home, since the kids are making the choices.

Q: Parents are concerned that their children aren’t old enough to make choices. What if they just want a homework packet? A: If parents want a packet, I nicely take them outside my classroom (where I keep copies of all the homework choices) with a stapler in hand, randomly take three or four assignments and staple them together. Voila! A homework packet! I don’t think this is the best way to assign homework as it takes responsibility away from the student, but I don’t believe homework is important enough to cause rifts between teachers and parents. I strongly, strongly, strongly (did I say strongly?) disagree that children aren’t able to make choices for themselves.

Q: What if students can’t handle turning in homework only once a week? A: Weekly turn in typically works for 99% of students. For the other 1% I use a Daily Homework Tracker or Bookmark. Students who use these do the same assignments, but turn in a bookmark/tracker each morning with the minutes they read the night before and the menu option they completed (or are working on) so they don’t get behind.

Q: How do you keep track of homework that has been turned in? Do students ever repeat the same assignment? A: I keep track of homework in an Excel document where I record the total minutes of reading and the numbers from the homework menu that students complete each week. At a glance I can make sure students are completing different assignments throughout the month

Q: How do you grade homework? How much time does this take when students are completing different assignments? A: Grading and entering homework into the Excel document is one of the parent volunteer jobs in my classroom. I feel my grading time is much better spent working on reader’s response notebooks or giving students comments on their writer’s workshop pieces rather than grading and entering homework assignments. I have a pack of answer keys that I include in my parent volunteer section of the room for all the monthly assignments, so a willing parent volunteer can do the grading for you. If parent volunteers are scarce, I would grade for completion only. Check! Sticker! Done!

Q: What do you do if students choose only the easiest assignments? A: Parents are usually much more concerned about this than I. Homework is something students should be able to complete independently so technically they should choose assignments that are easy (on an independent level) for them. I talk with my students throughout the year about choosing just right homework assignments and train the parents to do the same. If you can finish it in two minutes it’s too easy. If it makes you want to cry it’s too hard. Since I can’t necessarily control which assignments students pick as this is HOMEwork, I choose my battles. I would rather battle about reading just right books in the classroom than choosing just right homework assignments.

Q: Parents are telling me they have to teach their child how to do the assignment(s). What should I do? A: Remind the parent that there are a number of options for homework. Their job is to provide a calm place, time and structure for their child to work and then congratulate them when their child does their best. Train parents the same way you do students about choosing just right homework assignments (finish in 2 minutes vs. make you want to cry) and make some assignments available online if possible so parents can see what options are available.

Want to try out homework menus?

Click HERE to download this FREE editable homework menu , homework bookmark , and 4 printables that correspond to the menu and see what you think. I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Third-Grade-Homework-Freebie-4-NO-PREP-Printables-Editable-Homework-Menu-2802386?utm_source=ST%20Blog&utm_campaign=HW%20Blog%20Post%20Freebie%20Pic

Need more homework menus and printables?

If you are ready to get started with homework menus for the year, homework menus with corresponding printables are ready to go for every month of the school year at the Super Teacher stores. If you’re just getting started for the year, you can check out the August Homework pack HERE and the September Homework Menu pack HERE .

You can buy them one month at a time or take the leap and get the entire year bundle which includes EVERY homework pack + extra presents for Super Pack buyers only!

Have you tried out the freebie? Already using menus for homework? Let me know what you think in the comments!

Need More Back to School Resources?

How to Organize Your Classroom Library by Genre

$Looking for math ideas for the first weeks of school? These activities are perfect for kids in 2nd and 3rd grade. Includes activity ideas, free printables, and tips for implementing. Click to learn more! #math #education #2ndgrade #3rdgrade #backtoschool$

3 Simple Math Ideas for the First Weeks of School 2-3

Looking for back to school writing activities? This blog post includes ideas and lessons teachers can use during the first weeks of school to get started with writer's notebooks and generating ideas for writing. Perfect for 2nd and 3rd grade students. #2 is a great activity for the first day! #education #writing #2ndgrade #3rdgrade

3 Simple Writing Activities for the First Weeks of School 2-3

$Back to School Math Challenges & Brainteasers$

Back to School Math Challenges & Brainteasers

Ready, Set, Show! Back to School Math Game Subtraction Facts

Ready, Set, Show! Back to School Division Facts

Great idea!!

Pingback: But I Don’t Get It! The Late, Great Homework Debate | TWU New Teachers

Do you plan on making different grade levels? I would like to purchase a second grade one!

Thanks so much for your question! For 2nd grade, I recommend using menus as in-class activities rather than homework because all of the choices are a bit too overwhelming for 2nd graders. When I taught 2nd grade we used a more simple homework and it worked well, especially at the beginning of the year. However, I did still have students use menus, but as enrichment or fast finishers.

Sadlier's English Language Arts Blog

Author Interviews
Interactive Read Alouds
Close Reading
Vocabulary/Vocab Gal
Writing with Vocabulary
Assessments
Charts/Posters
Graphic Organizers
Back to School
End of School
Classroom Management
Grammar & Writing
Thinking Routines
About Our Bloggers

November 7, 2018 VG Teaching Resources Vocab & ELA Res , Vocab Gal , ELA K-5 , ELA Seasonal Back to School , ELA 6-8 , ELA Resources - Activities , ELA 9-12 , ELA PD - Classroom Management , ELA PD - Vocabulary , ELA Focus - Writing with Vocabulary , ELA Focus - Vocabulary

11 vocabulary homework ideas and how to motivate students to do it, by: vocab gal.

Homework is such a valuable formative assessment for both teachers and students, and yet students are motivated* by many different factors when it comes to their desire to actually complete the work. In this article, I'm sharing how to motivate students to do their homework and 11 vocabulary homework ideas and worksheets that work in grades 1–12. Plus, preview and grab my 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework Kit .

Keep scrolling to find vocabulary homework ideas!

How to motivate students to do their homework.

As a teacher, I try to concentrate students’ learning on activities done in class, because asking some students to complete work at home can be daunting. Many times in my career I have been discouraged when more than half the class does not return to class with their homework assignment complete.

Yet we only have so many minutes with our students, and we need them to practice the concepts and skills they are learning until the knowledge becomes ingrained. Most students have a homeroom, study hall, or other downtime during the day in which they could complete activities, they just have to be motivated to do it.

Many studies cite “student choice” as one of the most important factors in inspiring students to learn. When students have the opportunity to select what questions to answer, what activity to complete or what role to play, they tend to feel more comfortable and confident about performing.

Additionally, research shows that when students are dedicated to a task important to them, like improving their video game scores, or optimizing their success on a playing field, they will go to great lengths to improve. While probably not as meaningful as their video game level, students will be more excited to answer questions about themselves than a generic worksheet.

By providing students with both choice and a topic that is personally meaningful, homework can be a great learning exercise as well as an important formative assessment.

Steps to Ensure Students Complete Homework

There are a few other motivating factors that can help establish homework as a meaningful part of a student’s educational experience. Here are suggested steps a school, parish, department, or teacher might take to ensure successful homework completion.

Step One First, confirm that students have a strong rapport with their teacher(s). While it is difficult to cultivate a deep relationship with each student, teachers should strive to show students that they value their students and are committed to helping them learn and grow to their fullest potential. I would encourage teachers not to assign homework for the first few weeks of school until they develop a classroom community of respect and appreciation for learning.

Step Two Second, once the classroom community has been established, teachers should specifically explain the importance of homework as a way of deeply ingraining knowledge. Teachers should also make it clear that homework is a meaningful formative assessment where both they and their students can understand what students know and where there are knowledge gaps.

Step Three Third, some students may be quite unhappy when being mandated to do specific work. Therefore, teachers should stress the choices a student gets when completing their homework and that students get to complete the work that best reflects their own sense of self.

Step Four Finally, the teacher should praise students individually, as well as praise the class when homework is turned in on time. Many students thrive on positive reinforcement and also many may feel guilt if they let their classmates or teacher down. Additionally, as many teachers know, a word of encouragement or a small sticker can make the difference to many.

How to Respond When Homework is Not Completed

When at last it comes time for homework collection, there will be students who did not complete the assignment, no matter how well it was set up. Teachers can again encourage students who did not complete the homework in time to think about what may motivate them to complete it. If a student seems to dislike direct mandates, providing support such as, “I know that you value your learning and will find a way to demonstrate your abilities,” might be more effective than, “Turn in your paper by Thursday or it’s a zero!”

For others who seem driven by the need to please or help others, teachers might encourage students by stating, “I’m disappointed that you weren’t able to complete your work on time, and I know you will submit your work in order to show us both what you know and understand,” might work better than, “Don’t you want the credit for this assignment?”

Vocabulary Homework Ideas for Students

For this post, I have a few homework assignments that model these ideas. Both in my new It's All About Me vocabulary practice page, and my tried-and true, 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework bundle, students are motivated to continue their learning because they have both choice and a focus on themselves, a topic in which they are already invested.

My new It's All About Me Vocabulary Activity tasks students with answering a series of questions about themselves using vocabulary words in context. On the first page of this download students will list their vocabulary words and write their own brief definitions. On the second page student will answer eight prompts. Each response should include at least one of the vocabulary words from their list in context . In each of their answers students must underline the context clues that would help someone unfamiliar with the word understand what it means.

I find that students tend to be more engaged in an assignment if they are asked to answer questions about themsleves than a generic worksheet. My new It's All About Me Vocabulary Activity tasks students with answering a series of questions about themselves using vocabulary words in context.

With the 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework bundle, students can choose from a variety of fun and engaging activities for learning or reviewing vocabulary words. In addition to the homework selection sheet, the bundle includes worksheets for vocabulary homework ideas number five and six. The other vocabulary homework options can be completed on a plain piece of paper or in student workbooks.

Here are the vocabulary activities listed on the 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework handout:

#1 Say Your Words

Do you love the sound of your own voice? Do you tend to learn information by teaching others? Then try saying each of the vocabulary words, out loud and in context, to friends, family, strangers, etc. Use either your flashcards or your list of words, and make sure to get initials from someone who heard you say your vocabulary sentence. If you can’t get a signature, just explain when and how you said the sentences and we will invoke the HONOR SYSTEM! Create two sentences per word.

Do you love to write? Do you copy your notes to help you remember information? Then try writing two sentences for each vocabulary word. These can either be two individual sentences for each word or you can put all of your words together in a story. (If you write a story, you only have to use each word once). Have fun and get creative – amuse me and impress me, but make sure you use your vocabulary words in context!

#3 Write Your Words in Other Classes

As an alternative to the above “Write your Words,” use your vocabulary in your assignments for other classes – social studies essays, science notes, art descriptions, etc. Write down the vocabulary you used for this assignment (For example: On my science test I said “Newton was meritorious,” etc.). You can abbreviate your explanations slightly, as long as I understand you know the word’s meaning; remember to use each word twice.

#4 Become Your Words

Do you gesture when you talk? Is it hard for you to sit still? Then consider creating motions to go along with your words. Cry for lament , raise your arms in praise for approbation , etc. See me during class to “perform” your motions, or write them down, making sure that the connection between word, meaning, and gesture makes sense.

#5 Draw Your Words

Are you an artist? Do you constantly doodle? Then create cartoons or drawings that illustrate each word’s meaning. Create one drawing or cartoon per word and make them neat, using clean white paper (consider using recycled paper that has printing on the other side). Paperclip all your drawings together for the end of the week.

Vocabulary Homework Ideas: Draw Your Words - Are you an artist? Do you constantly doodle? Then create cartoons or drawings that illustrate each word’s meaning. Create one drawing or cartoon per word and make them neat, using clean white paper (consider using recycled paper that has printing on the other side). Paperclip all your drawings together for the end of the week.

#6 Sing Your Words

Do you love to sing? Are you constantly creating your own raps? Try rewriting the lyrics to a song to incorporate each of your vocabulary words or write your own song, rap, etc. You can also write poetry; regardless of the form you choose, the words should be used in the correct context.

Vocabulary Homework Ideas: Sing Your Words - Do you love to sing? Are you constantly creating your own raps? Try rewriting the lyrics to a song to incorporate each of your vocabulary words or write your own song, rap, etc. You can also write poetry; regardless of the form you choose, the words should be used in the correct context.

#7 Test Your Words

Do you want to play teacher and write the test as well as take it? Now you can! Create a vocabulary test using all the words in a variety of different types of questions. Make sure to create the answer key to the test as well.

Download the 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework bundle and have students keep the selection sheet in their binders. Now they have seven weeks of vocabulary homework assignments!

Additional Vocabulary Homework Ideas

Ultimately, establishing a culture of community and trust in the classroom, explaining the reasoning behind and the benefits of homework, and providing choice and meaningful topics can make a significant difference in completion rates. Even if homework is not completed on time, teachers can still work to connect with each student to provide motivation to complete the assignments.

As educators, we all strive to make learning exciting and applicable to our students. By setting up clear expectations and providing interesting options, we can make any homework, including vocabulary homework, meaningful and valuable to students.

*I have recently completed Gretchen Rubin’s audiobook The Four Tendencies about what motivates different groups of people. Many of the ideas about motivating students come loosely from her book as well as my own observations. I highly recommend the book to anyone wanting to learn how to better motivate themselves and others.

Log in to Witsby: ASCD’s Next-Generation Professional Learning and Credentialing Platform

Five Hallmarks of Good Homework

The Fundamental Five

Hallmark 1: purpose, hallmark 2: efficiency, hallmark 3: ownership, hallmark 4: competence, hallmark 5: aesthetic appeal, free to learn.

Premium Resource

Five Hallmarks of Good Homework - thumbnail

Write the 10 spelling words 3 times each. Write definitions of the 15 science vocabulary words. Do the math problems on page 27, problems 1–20 on dividing fractions.

Create your own method to practice spelling words or choose one of the following: Write or type the words three times, spell them out loud, use Scrabble tiles to spell them, trace them with your finger, or create a puzzle using the words.

Show that you know the meaning of the science vocabulary words by using them in sentences or in a story. For each vocabulary word, read the three sentences below it. Choose the sentence that uses the word correctly.

Our children are now expected to read 20 minutes a night and record such on their homework sheet. What parents are discovering (surprise) is that those kids who used to sit down and read for pleasure … are now setting the timer, choosing the easiest books, and stopping when the timer dings. … Reading has become a chore, like brushing your teeth. (Kohn, 2006, pp. 176–177)

Try to read an average of 30 minutes each night. Once a week, estimate how much time you've spent reading. Write a short paragraph about what you've been reading.

List the four most important ideas in Chapter 4. Keep a journal. After each chapter section, write a reaction to what you read. During your reading, place sticky notes on the parts you have questions about. During your reading, place sticky notes on the parts you found most interesting to discuss in class.

Which characters best typify the following virtues: honor, integrity, strength? What did they do that shows that virtue? Which characters best typify the following vices: greed, jealousy, arrogance? What did they do that shows that vice? With which character do you most identify and why? How does the story relate to life today? (Vatterott, 2007)

Bennett, S., & Kalish, N. (2006). The case against homework: How homework is hurting our children and what we can do about it . New York: Crown.

Darling-Hammond, L., & Ifill-Lynch, O. (2006). If they'd only do their work! Educational Leadership, 63 (5), 8–13.

Goldberg, K. (2007, April). The homework trap . Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago.

Kohn, A. (2006). The homework myth: Why our kids get too much of a bad thing . Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.

Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J., & Pollock, J. E. (2001). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement . Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Stiggins, R. (2007). Assessment through the student's eyes. Educational Leadership, 64 (8), 22–26.

Tomlinson, C. A. (2008). The goals of differentiation. Educational Leadership, 66 (3), 26–31.

Vatterott, C. (2007). Becoming a middle level teacher: Student focused teaching of early adolescents . New York: McGraw-Hill.

Vatterott, C. (2009). Rethinking homework: Best practices that support diverse needs . Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Cathy Vatterott is professor emeritus of education at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Referred to as the "homework lady," Vatterott has been researching, writing, and speaking about K–12 homework for more than 20 years.

She frequently presents at a variety of state and national educational conferences and also serves as a consultant and workshop presenter for K–12 schools on a variety of topics.

ASCD is a community dedicated to educators' professional growth and well-being.

Let us help you put your vision into action., related articles.

The Hidden Rigors of Data Science

Transforming STEM by Focusing on Justice

STEM Doesn’t Have to Be Rocket Science

For STEM Education, the Time Is Now

How to Signal “STEM Is For You”?

From our issue.

To process a transaction with a Purchase Order please send to [email protected]

Top 7 English Homework Tips for Teachers, Students and Parents

7 ways to create meaningful English homework. Tips for teachers, parents and students

Homework. The bane of student life everywhere. And teachers too! Won’t someone please think of the teachers?

It has been one of the hottest debates among progressives and traditionalists in education circles for many years now; is homework help or a hindrance?

Millions of student hours per year are wasted on busy work, which adds little to student learning. But that doesn’t mean that the judicious use of homework can’t add greatly to student learning, particularly in an area as complex as literacy.

Regarding reading and writing homework, there are good points to be made on both sides. But, as with many hot-button issues, the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle.

In this article, we will look at what we need to consider when we set homework to ensure it provides value to our students’ learning. We will look at what to do, what not to do, and just how much of it to do.

ENGLISH HOMEWORK TIP 1: Bin the Busy Work!

english homework | busy homework | Top 7 English Homework Tips for Teachers, Students and Parents | literacyideas.com

Ask your average student what their pet peeve is regarding their current station in life, and more often than not, homework will be mentioned in the reply. It is just as much a fixture in the life of a student as an oven is in the life of a baker. Unfortunately, as many students robotically complete their homework as teachers that robotically set the tasks. And here lies our first problem – busy work!

Homework should ALWAYS be focused. It should be carefully designed and purposeful. Without clear objectives built-in, the homework serves little to no pedagogical purpose. It is more likely to be a waste of the student’s time and the time of the teacher who is doomed to mark it.

The first rule of Homework Club is Bin the Busy Work!

ENGLISH HOMEWORK TIP 2: Make The Homework Fit for Purpose

english homework | english homework tasks | Top 7 English Homework Tips for Teachers, Students and Parents | literacyideas.com

It may seem obvious, but homework must be suited to the ability of the student. How often have diligent students pulled their hair out struggling over a problem all night, press-ganging parents into the effort, only to be soundly trounced by a problem Einstein himself would need his morning coffee before attempting.

Avoid setting homework that will stretch the student to the elastic limits of their abilities. We don’t want anyone ‘snapping’ here. The material chosen for reading or writing homework should, however, challenge the student to some degree. Just as with strength training, some resistance is required to build ‘muscle’ here.

As in Rule #1 above, homework should be carefully designed to achieve a certain objective. But, one size most certainly doesn’t fit all. Be sure to differentiate homework appropriately for the different abilities of different students. Often, you won’t need to set different tasks, a slight tweak in the instructions given will be enough to make it suitable for the various ability levels.

YEAR LONG DIGITAL READING LOG / DIARY

english homework | digitalreadinglog | Top 7 English Homework Tips for Teachers, Students and Parents | literacyideas.com

Leap into the CLASSROOM OF THE FUTURE and ditch your paper-based reading logs or journals FOREVER. This dynamic BUNDLE OF RESOURCES allows you to track and assess your students reading with far more efficiency and effectiveness than ever before. INCLUDING: ✔ A dynamic DIGITAL READING SURVEY which AUTOMATICALLY ADAPTS based upon the genre of book your students are reading and what point of the text they are up to ✔ A pre-written LETTER FOR PARENTS AND STUDENTS explaining how it all works and the clear benefits it offers teachers, students and parents. ✔ A set of POSTERS AND BOOKMARKS matched to your class reading log so you kids can access this ANYTIME, ANYWHERE on ANY DEVICE ✔ A VIDEO TUTORIAL explaining how to edit, customize and deliver this to parents and students with ease, as well as how to sort, filter and manage your student data

ENGLISH HOMEWORK TIP 3: Set Time Limits

make sure you have a dedicated time frame for homework

We all have both good days and bad days, and all sorts of days in between. Regardless of what sort of day you had, one thing is for sure, there were 24 hours in it. One of the more difficult things as a teacher, especially in a school with a vague homework policy, is just how much homework to set. The answer is, of course, it depends , and while time is certainly an imperfect means of gauging this, it at least provides some guidelines.

Just how much time depends on quite a few things. The time of year, for example. If exams are ongoing, you may want to avoid heaping extra pressure on your students. Perhaps too, your school has a very prescriptive homework policy that restricts your flexibility in terms of how much time you can set for homework tasks.

All that aside, the general wisdom on setting homework is that it should start at around 10 minutes for grade 1 and gradually increase by around ten minutes per grade, up to a maximum of 2 hours per day for the oldest students.

Like most things in teaching, however, this is more of an art than a cold, hard science. Pay attention to your students and how they are bearing up under the workload. Your priority here should always be to maximize the learning done in the classroom, so don’t overdo it.

ENGLISH HOMEWORK TIP 4: Give Timely Feedback

homework without feedback is a complete waste of time

For feedback to be useful, it must be timely. If a student has spent hours composing an essay; researching their material, drafting an outline, organising their structure, writing and rewriting to submit their finished piece only to be told 4 weeks later that the third paragraph lacks purpose, the third paragraph will not be the only thing that lacks purpose.

If feedback is to be of any value, you must strike while the mental forge is still hot. Our students’ lives are most likely busy and interesting. Often their focus will be transient, if not downright fickle. If you want your feedback to stick – it must be delivered while the smoke still hangs in the air.

ENGLISH HOMEWORK TIP 5: Get Creative with the Tasks

boring english homework is painful for students. be creative

Many of our students hate homework. Perhaps ‘despise’ would be a better word. And is it any wonder? Especially when it comes to reading and writing. Learning to read and write well requires lots of practice, and a certain amount of repetition is inescapable. But, I would argue, there should be no reason for homework to be boring. There isn’t a more wondrous subject in the world than literacy, after all!

Reading and writing are very broad areas of learning. Ample opportunities are afforded to allow you to come up with engaging and creative ways for your students to reinforce their learning. You just need to begin with your learning objective and reverse engineer unique ways to get there.

Let’s take instruction writing as an example. Say you have already taught the key criteria of instruction writing: a title, a resource list, some diagrams with captions, bullet or numbered points, use of transition words and imperatives etc. You now want the students to consolidate their understanding of the genre by writing their own set of instructions at home, but how to do it in an interesting fashion?

Well, let’s brainstorm and see if we can’t make things a little more interesting for our students. Recipes are a type of instruction writing. You could set them the task of writing a recipe for their favorite sandwich, but that’s kind of, well, lame!

How about writing a recipe for the most disgusting sandwich in the world? Yes, now that’s much better. Maybe they could word process it too and include Creative Commons images to support the text, Or, they could even make a script and record a video instructional, sharpening up their video-editing skills along the way.

Regardless of which of these methods you choose, your students would still be fulfilling the original objective of reinforcing their understanding of the criteria of the genre.

Bear in mind, however, you should not set homework that requires students to use resources that they don’t have access to, so be sure to give this due consideration when getting creative with your homework tasks.

ENGLISH HOMEWORK TIP 6: Leverage Interest

pump up the purpose and value of homework to your students

“ You can bring a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink ”, as the old saying goes – and it certainly applies to homework.

This rule relies heavily on the relationship you build with your students over time. Allied to the point above, there are a million different ways to teach an objective, but try to engineer activities that leverage the specific interests of your students.

If you are setting a homework task to reinforce reading comprehension skills, for example, are there opportunities for you to select, or allow your students to select, material that they are interested in?

The same applies when selecting topics for writing. Where student interest is engaged, learning often becomes effortless.

ENGLISH HOMEWORK TIP 7: Give Homework At The Start of the Lesson

make homework a priority in your planning, not an afterthought.

It is general practice to give homework at the end of the lesson. By then, you will have introduced a lesson objective, worked through some examples during class, and now you can set homework for the students to further consolidate their understanding at home.

It makes sense, right? Well, yes, but there is another option.

Sharing the homework task with your students at the start of class may, at times, be preferable. There are several benefits to this. Often, at the end of class, our students are worn out. They are like greyhounds at the starting gate, raring to go home, to the next class, or for lunch. The last place their attention is is on more of the topic they have just been working on. Setting homework at the start of the class avoids the feeling like you are trying to herd cats at the end of class.

Another strong benefit to setting the homework at the start of the class is that it focuses the students on specific learning goals for the lesson to come. Students will be motivated to engage more with their learning as it will make their homework much easier to do that evening. Give it a go with your class and see!

The Takeaways

READING AND WRITING HOMEWORK DOESN’t HAVE TO BE A BATTLE

Homework should be used as a means of consolidating learning done in the classroom. Tasks should be focused and offer opportunities for students to improve their understanding of important concepts or develop specific skills.

Homework should be designed in such a way that it is manageable by students. It should not be beyond the limits of their abilities and time limits should be set to prevent student frustration from boiling over if they struggle to complete it.

Feedback needs to be given in a timely fashion for it to serve any useful purpose. This means that consideration must be given to your workload when assigning homework. Will you have enough time to mark the students’ work and provide the necessary feedback in a timely manner?

If not, reconsider the tasks you are setting. Remember, you may also find value in peer assessment activities too.

Also, try setting homework at the start of class to motivate student participation in the lesson to come. And, you’ll avoid that tussle at lesson’s end as the students rush for the door!

Literacy is such a fascinating subject area that there will always be room to create interesting homework tasks. You just require a little space to allow your imagination to run freely. The personal interests of your students can provide a great starting point for the creation of engaging and fun homework tasks.

Remember too, there’s an upper limit to how much homework you should set, and it may not always be necessary to set homework. When you do set homework, set it judiciously, and you will undoubtedly add to the learning experience of your students.

17 Fun First Day Of School Writing Activities

7 Evergreen Writing Activities for Elementary Students

A complete guide to Onomatopoeia

Punctuation rules for students and teachers: A complete guide

Hyperbole: A Complete Guide for Students and Teachers

Top 5 Essay Writing Tips

Creative Homework Ideas

Learn Bright Lessons include many creative ideas for classroom instruction and student learning. Students are asked to work independently or with their peers, fostering their collaboration skills. Of course, the lessons also include many traditional learning exercises. Such as, multiple-choice questions, matching, fill in the blank responses, and others. Since every school and classroom is different, any lesson used with students can be adapted.

Whether you are assigning homework based on Learn Bright lessons or your own school’s curriculum, the homework you assign is essential for learning. Some schools across the country have banned assigning homework to students while others limit the amount each night. If you do assign homework, there are several creative ideas you can use that will motivate your students to complete the homework you assign.

Creative hands-on learning activities and other similar learning ideas in the classroom are quite effective. They can be just as effective at home as well for a wide variety of subjects and assignments. In every student’s home, there is “stuff” and other resources that can be accessed to help students review a concept taught at school. Here are a few samples for different subjects:

MATH – Multiplication Facts

Students use the numbers that appear on product labels and multiply them together. Not only do they get multiplication practice, but they may also be introduced to a food label in a new way. It encourages the students to read food and other product labels. In this way, they can relate what they learn in class to the real world. Showing them when they will use these concepts in their everyday lives.

SCIENCE – Solids, Liquids, Gases

Students conduct a home or neighborhood search for items that are solids, liquids, or gases. For example, they can open the refrigerator and list milk, juice, and other beverages as liquids. The containers, butter, veggies, and more as solids. Carbonated drinks can be listed as containing gas. You can ask them later about eggs or Jell-O and other items that may be both solid and liquid. This reinforces their learning by allowing them to explore and use their creativity to complete the assignment.

SOCIAL STUDIES – Older Adult Interviews

Students may be studying topics in history from the past 50 to 100 years. With this exercise, they interview an older adult who lived through the event that they are studying. They obtain opinions and feelings related to the event. They also confirm (or dispute) facts the students have been taught. Finally, they discuss how the person was affected by the event. This gives them a deeper understanding of that event and shows them the value of primary sources.

LANGUAGE ARTS – Parts of Speech Search

Students practice identifying the seven parts of speech while at home. They do this by listing examples that are used during family conversations or those words found on product labels.

Describing Things

Students use each of the five senses to write descriptive sentences related to things at home or in the neighborhood. The aroma of dinner, the sound of cars passing on the street, the sight of moving tree branches, the feel of a parent’s hug, or the taste of a spicy meal. This allows them to connect the lesson to the real world. It allows them to think about their surroundings in a new and interesting way.

READING – Read and React

Students are asked to read aloud a passage from their favorite story or novel. Next, they ask family members or close neighbors for their reactions and opinions about a character/event from the passage. Students record the information and discuss it with the listener. This illustrates that different people may notice different things while reading. It gives the student a chance to practice discussing literature from a young age.

MUSIC – Favorite Music

Students will listen to a parent or other family member’s favorite genre of music. Then, list the instruments they hear, share their opinions of the sound, and discuss other artists from a particular era. This encourages them to engage with the music on a level they normally would not.

ART – Art Critic

Nearly all homes include some type of painting, picture, or sculpture on display. Students take a photo of an art piece in their home and share their opinion of the art piece with a family member. They can discuss the age of the work of art, how it adds to the room’s décor, why it’s significant to their family, and more. Students will gain valuable practice analyzing images and thinking about art with this homework assignment.

HEALTH – Food Search

The students conduct a food search, identifying healthy versus unhealthy foods. Next, they list reasons why they may be considered healthy or unhealthy, and reviewing food labels. This teaches students to think about what they eat. Hence giving them a fun and interactive activity to do for homework.

There are many, many more creative homework ideas you can use for at-home assignments for your students. Think outside the box when assigning homework. Practice incorporating interactive elements so that students aren’t just sitting at their desk. Try to create and develop assignments that kids will want to do. Avoid the assignments that kids simply have to do. Think of the real-world applications for your lesson material as inspiration and build your homework assignments around that. Creative homework assignments can be fun and, at the same time, teach and enhance subjects introduced in the classroom.

For more creative homework ideas, be sure to check out our lesson plans and YouTube videos!

Previous Post Creating a Classroom Newsletter

Next post building connection with students, related posts.

Promoting Inclusion in the Classroom Blog Cover

Parent Teacher Conferences

Tips for Avoiding Teacher Burnout

Make your life easier with our lesson plans, stay up-to-date with new lessons.

Lesson Plans
For Teachers

Professional Development

15 Innovative School Homework Ideas to Make Learning Fun

Aashita Pillai

Aashita is a writer here at Suraasa and has formerly worked as a Teacher Mentor for a couple of years. She wields words like weapons to help readers get clear and concise information.

Introduction

General tips to keep students hooked to school homework, 15 innovative school homework ideas to engage your students, theme a: arts and crafts, theme b: physical and outside activities, theme c: digital activities, theme d: games, theme e: entrepreneurship.

“Hi teachers! I am your old friend, School Homework. Over time as education changed, so have I— thanks to the endless innovations that happened to me. Let me take you through my life and the various innovations that made me your best friend- I was born in the 1920s to help students reinforce what they learned in class. Until the 1980s, I was basically just pen-and-paper-based assignments. The Internet was born in 1983. From there onwards, I made my stride into the ‘digital era’.

Until the beginning of 2020, I was slowly being integrated within online platforms and technology to help students learn better. Then at the onset of 2020, the world plunged into the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools shifted to a ‘remote learning’ mode of education. During this pandemic, you and I became very crucial in ensuring the continuity of our students’ learning. You all embraced creative approaches to keep the students engaged. You leveraged interactive games, virtual simulations, & more to make me engaging. Gone are the days when you, my dear teachers, would limit your homework to worksheets, textbook questions, literature reviews, and reports. Today as we stand here in 2023, there is no limit to innovative and exciting homework formats! Well, that’s from me. See you in the classrooms!”

Unlimited possibilities when school homework and innovation combine

So teachers, we heard from homework about how it has evolved over time. As it said, many innovative ways have come up to reinforce our students' learning. So, are you ready to make your students fall in love with these new school homework ideas? Let’s begin with understanding some general tips to keep your students engaged with their school homework.

1. Make it Relevant and Meaningful

Connect the school homework to their lives, interests, or current events to make it more meaningful and relatable. For example, if it’s Christmas time, you can ask your students to explore the themes of charity, storytelling, etc.

2. Give Them a Choice

Allow students to have some choice and autonomy in their assignments. Ask them to select the format (e.g. written format in the online medium, oral format in the offline medium) in which they want to submit their homework. When they feel a sense of ownership, they are more likely to be motivated and engaged. This is how you become a 21st-century teacher who uses differentiated learning.

3. Celebrate Their Achievements

When children get appreciated for their achievements or good behaviour, it boosts their self-confidence. It encourages them to repeat those actions. This creates a positive learning environment. They are more likely to deliver results when appreciated for their actions. Hence, you can celebrate their achievements via small rewards, recognition or a display of their work in class.

Let's move to the next part of this blog, where we will share innovative school homework ideas that will turn mundane homework into engaging learning sessions! After assigning any of these innovative homework ideas, you might never hear students’ innovative excuses to avoid homework! To give you a quick run-through, these ideas have been grouped under some common themes. Under each theme, you will learn how to use 3 ideas listed alongside relevant examples to comprehend it completely. Come along as we give the ratty old homework a MAKEOVER!

By infusing the joy of arts and crafts into school homework, you can tap into the innate curiosity and imagination of your students. And you never know, you might end up being the person that shaped the next Da Vinci! So, let’s get right into it:

1. Create Your Storybook

Storybooks as creative holiday homework for nursery class

We all have heard stories. We have loved them and adored them. So why not give our students a chance to write one? After the students submit their storybooks, you can review their stories and give personalised feedback. Such feedback addresses each student’s individual needs, strengths, and areas for improvement. This fosters a student-centric learning environment. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

2. Make Your Own Board Game

Holiday homework to make your own board game

Do you remember the joy of gathering around a table, rolling a dice, and playing Snakes & Ladders? As kids and even as adults, many of us love spending our time playing board games. Now, picture becoming the teacher that integrates school homework with a board game! Students can design board games and incorporate artistic elements into their theme, board layout, cards, etc. They can become architects of fun and learning!

Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

3. Construct a Birdhouse

Summer vacation holiday homework to create a birdhouse

Now, let’s tap into the sweet nostalgia of DIY(Do it Yourself) Projects. It could be something as simple as bedsheet forts or something a little more complex like a birdhouse 🙂 Won’t it be wonderful to watch your students feel a sense of accomplishment when they build their own handmade creations? Let’s focus on the idea of constructing a birdhouse. By assigning students this homework, you’ll additionally be encouraging kinesthetic learning .

Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

Students love spending their time outdoors. Assigning school homework that requires them to be outside is a big plus! It will also help them apply what’s taught in class in real-life situations and promote active learning.

4. Participate in a Scavenger Hunt

Everyone loves a good old mystery! Give your students the chance to be modern-day ‘Sherlock Holmes’ as they set out on scavenger hunts. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

5. Maintain a Physical Activity Journal

In this digital age, where mobile and laptop screens often dominate, the majority of the students lead sedentary lifestyles. School homework which encourages physical activity, can be a game-changer! And what better than maintaining a physical activity journal that helps with it? Additionally, it will also promote the healthy habit of having an active lifestyle among students. Getting students to journal can seem tough, but with the right motivation & incentives, it can be done. Additionally, this can also be a fun summer holiday homework, where students can keep track of their activities all summer! Encourage them to document their daily exercise triumphs. Push them to go beyond their own records! Ask them to explore science concepts- BMI, heart and pulse rates, diet, and nutrition! Once you do this, exercise will not just be about breaking a sweat anymore. It will also be something that incorporates learning! Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

6. Conduct a Survey at a Local Supermarket

This outdoor activity is an extremely fun option for school homework. Most kids love running through the different aisles in a supermarket. Introducing a concept like surveys here gives them a chance to do some ‘real-life’ work and also provides much-needed relief to their parents! Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

In the age of tech-savvy students, we often find parents complaining about the excess screen time with their kids. But what if you could harness the untapped potential in technology? Today's kids are already immersed in the digital world, so why not tap into their enthusiasm and merge it with learning? Let’s look at some innovative methods of assigning digital activities for school homework:

7. Record a Virtual Job Application

Homework for classes 9 to 12 related to career opportunities

This can be a fun homework assignment for students of all grades. One thing that we often forget as teachers is that school is not just about the present; it's also about the future. But often, we don’t discuss the future. This results in students being almost lost when it comes to their future career opportunities. This is exactly where this school homework activity helps. Assigning school homework related to professions is a great chance for students to explore their career options. This, in turn, will help them be better prepared for life after school. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

8. Participate in Online Collaborative Projects

Online collaboration projects as holiday homework

Online projects are a catalyst for active learning and student engagement. They can be a tool for you to create a dynamic learning environment that goes beyond traditional classroom boundaries. Additionally, these activities enhance digital literacy and empower students to leverage technology for learning. Working on online collaborative projects will also help students learn how to function together as a team. This is something that also prepares them for life beyond school, where it’s crucial to learn to work together.

9. Virtual Cultural Exchange

Using cultural exchange as holiday homework

Cultural exchange events open doors to new horizons, offering students a unique chance to explore diverse cultures. By immersing them in new traditions, you develop acceptance, and empathy in your students. You give them a chance to have a broad and more inclusive perspective of the world. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

Game-based school homework is one of the best ways to engage your students. Integrating learning within games creates a powerful synergy where education and entertainment merge seamlessly. It’s time to tap into your students’ natural love for games and leverage it!

10. Use Minecraft as a Learning Tool

Summer vacation holiday homework using games

Ah, Minecraft! A name that brings back memories of endless adventures in pixelated landscapes. It’s a game that is a nostalgic reminder of our childhood. But did you know that Minecraft can be more than just a game? It can be a powerful learning tool to level up the educational experience of your students. 💡Learn how to leverage Minecraft to make your classrooms more engaging! Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

11. Encourage Role-Playing Games

Using roleplay as creative holiday homework idea

Lights, camera, action! Role-playing games(RPGs) let students step into the shoes of a character and bring lessons to life. Even though RPGs are not typically classified as games, their unique blend of learning and fun makes them ideal for educational purposes. You can assign students to act out roleplays based on a historical event, scientific concept or work of literature. They can develop characters, write dialogues, and present this to the class. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

12. Online Challenges

Online coding as holiday homework design idea

You can introduce online challenges like coding of varying difficulties for different grade levels. Platforms like Scratch or Code.org can be helpful for this purpose. Coding challenges offer hands-on experience to students. It allows them to practice coding concepts and algorithms in a practical and engaging manner. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

In today's competitive world, students who embrace innovative thinking and an entrepreneurial mindset stand out. As a teacher, you can nurture these qualities in your students via thought-provoking school homework. Such assignments can ignite students' passion for problem-solving, creative thinking, and strategic planning. Let’s look at some of the ideas below.

13. Pitch Your Business Idea

Holiday homework idea of practising a business pitch

Have you watched shows like Shark Tank or Billion Dollar Buyer? Have you been completely captivated by the business pitches on these shows? Now, imagine doing the same for your students— unleashing their entrepreneurial spirit. It’s time to bring the hustle of the business world into your classrooms! Encourage students to develop a business idea and create a persuasive pitch. They should research their target market, competitors, and unique selling points. In fact, students can present their pitch using multimedia tools, such as slides or videos, highlighting the problem they're solving and the value their business brings. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

14. Design a Mobile App

School homework idea to design mobile apps

Smartphones have become an integral part of our lives. Think about the countless hours that you spend on your smartphone, exploring different apps that make your life easier. This is a practice growing like fire amongst kids as well and is cause for serious concern! What if they spend time on their phone and learn at the same time? This homework assignment encourages students to apply their creativity and technical skills to develop a concept for a mobile application. Additionally, you can also assign this as a holiday homework assignment and let students go wild with learning during summer! Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

*Technologies like designing mobile applications can be too complex for the primary school. Hence, we focus on this idea only for middle and high school students.

15. Set up a Stall at the School Fair

School homework idea of setting up a stall at fair

This homework acts as an Introduction to Business 101 class for students of all grade levels. Students get to decide what stall to put up, then work on the logistics and finally manage the stall and finances on D-Day. This will teach students real-world skills and give them a feeling of ownership. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

Grade-Specific Tips to follow while Preparing School Homework ‍

1. primary school students ‍.

Keep it Interactive and Hands-on Younger children thrive on tactile and interactive experiences. Incorporate more of arts and crafts, storytelling, etc., to make homework enjoyable for them.
Use Visuals Vibrant colours will capture their attention and make tasks visually appealing.
Keep it Short Primary school students have limited attention spans. Give them small tasks that they can accomplish in a limited timeframe. ‍

2. Middle School students ‍

Offer More Choices Middle schoolers are often teenagers already on the precipice of changes beyond their control. They will appreciate having some control over their learning. Allow them to choose topics or formats that align with their interests.
Incorporate Technology Middle school students are often technologically savvy. Utilise online resources, interactive platforms, and digital tools to make homework more engaging and relevant to their interests.
Encourage Independent Research Foster their curiosity by assigning research-based projects. Encourage them to explore various sources and present their findings in creative ways. ‍

3. High School Students ‍

Encourage Critical Thinking and Analysis High schoolers are capable of higher-order thinking skills. Assign tasks that require critical thinking, problem-solving and analytical thinking.
Encourage Self-expression Offer creative assignments that allow them to express their thoughts, opinions and ideas. Remember that they are young adults finding their voice in a loud world. Encourage them to write essays, create multimedia presentations, or engage in spirited debates.
Push for Practical Application Assign tasks that connect to real-world situations, allowing them to see the relevance and importance of their learning. ‍

How to Improve Your Homework and Other Teaching Strategies?

Do you want to learn about more strategies to improve school homework? What if you could upskill and improve all your teaching strategies- classroom management, assessment, and lesson planning, among many others? Book a call with a mentor to get dedicated teacher counselling on upskilling and improving your teaching strategies.

In a world where school homework is generally met with students’ whining, you can use these approaches to turn it into a gateway for innovation! By infusing ideas such as game-based learning, digital activities, and arts and crafts, you can help students engage with school homework meaningfully. This will foster a lifelong love for learning among your students, ultimately helping them succeed in and beyond the classroom. Want a short compilation of all the amazing school homework ideas? Click the button below

Meet Suraasa, the World’s First Career Growth Platform for Teachers.

Keep Reading

From Good to Great: Master the 7 Essential Qualities of a Teacher

Discover the 7 qualities of a good teacher and practical tips to develop these qualities.

Inductive Method of Teaching: Pathway to Active Student Engagement

Learn to apply the inductive method of teaching with easy steps and examples. See how it compares to deductive teaching for better engagement.

What is Teacher Education: Meaning & Components

Considering a teaching career? Read this blog to find out how Teacher education programs can equip you with the skills to create engaging lessons, manage classrooms & ignite a love of learning!

BookWidgets Teacher Blog

20+ creative alternative homework ideas for teachers

When giving homework, it must always be based on learning goals your students have to reach, just like in your lessons. But it’s sad to see that lots of teachers are using homework as extra lesson time. Of course, as a teacher, you’re on a clock. But that doesn’t mean your students have to suffer from it and keep working on those boring textbooks and worksheets at home.

Consider goals like attitudes, real-life experiences, and practice, physical exercise, social encounters, creative solutions, and philanthropy as crucial as your lesson goals. These are things students don’t just pick up in your classroom. These are things they pick up in life.

In this blog post, I’ll give you some innovative homework ideas that will engage your students more. These alternatives to traditional homework will thereby also teach your students new things that can’t be taught in the classroom. You will find a variety of homework ideas: online and offline.

I will mention homework alternatives for primary school and high school. Some of these ideas can be changed a little bit, so they are the perfect fit for the right audience.

20 Creative homework ideas

You can divide homework tasks into the following themes or categories:

Crafts & arts
Outdoor activities & outings
Games and activities
Physical activities
Digital or computer activities
Philanthropy & social work

💡 Good to know : all the ready-to-use homework activities are created with BookWidgets . You can easily create activities like these yourself or duplicate an activity below for free, edit it if needed, and share it with your students. You can do so in the examples separately, or you can find all the homework examples in the BookWidgets Blog group folder .

Crafts and arts homework

1. prepare a dish from a recipe book.

2. Make a board game

3. Create a birdhouse

4. Transform a fictional book character into a hand puppet

Outdoor homework activities and outings

5. coupon game.

Students can also go grocery shopping with their parents. Here, they have to read the ingredients of the products and help their parents choose the healthiest products for the best prices, figure out the best deal between the sizes of items, …

6. Visit the zoo

7. Visit the local dumping ground or container park

8. Build a tree house

Games and activities as homework

9. bookwidgets games.

10. Minecraft

11. Play Cards

12. Play Zoo Tycoon or Rollercoaster Tycoon

Physical homework activities

13. rope skipping.

Many rope-skipping songs let your students do different tricks while rope-skipping. This is an excellent opportunity for homework as well. Ask your students to transform a rope skipping song into a song with lesson content. Let them count or spell or even sum up the different states or capitals. To engage their lifestyles even harder, you can additionally give them the assignment to create a TikTok in which they are jumping and singing.

Click here to see how you can get Tiktok more involved in the classroom.

14. Walking quest

If there aren’t any walking quests in the neighborhood, you could ask your students to create a walking quest like this for their fellow students. What a fun day it will be!

15. Obstacle Quiz

In order for students to answer the questions, they have to run and pass a challenging parkour. This is a fun homework exercise, and in the end, it’s a great lesson starter or lesson end.

16. Swimming games

After the activity, they can fill out an Exit Slip:

Digital or computer homework activities

17. create a picture album.

This teaches them to handle the online software, add pictures and write without spelling mistakes. And of course, creating memories is so much fun!

18. Video job application

19. Your life in 10 minutes - video

20. Email pen-pals

Is it still too complicated? Read the messages from your students, before they send them, and provide them with some feedback.

Philanthropy and social homework

21. grow a community garden.

22. Help in a retirement home

23. Help at a homeless shelter

24. Collect litter

Here’s another homework tip: Don’t call homework “homework”. Call it a challenge. Homework has become a negative word for students, and I bet they start rolling their eyes as you even mention the word.

Still looking for more inspiration? Check out the blog on short films and lesson activities that spice up your Google Classroom . Tip: even if you don’t use Google Classroom, there is a lot of inspiration back here.

Above you have read single assignments. But, you also have the option to involve your homework in a project. Find out more here .

So, as I mentioned earlier, there are many fun alternatives to traditional homework. Now it’s up to you to apply this in the classroom as well. In this folder , you will find all the examples you have come across.

Which idea do you or perhaps your students like the most? Let us know on Twitter . Of course, there are many more alternatives. If you have other ideas, you are always welcome to share it with other teachers in our Facebook group .

One more thing: don’t forget to say hi👋 on LikedIn .

Join hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and get the best content on technology in education.

BookWidgets enables teachers to create fun and interactive lessons for tablets, smartphones, and computers.

One Stop Teacher Shop

Ideas and resources for Teachers | Teacher Blog

Reading Homework: Making it Meaningful

By OneStopTeacherShop

As a teacher, I always made it my goal to make sure everything I did, or made my students do, was meaningful. Whether it be reading homework, math centers, or morning work, I didn’t like wasting time; my time, or my students’ time. In addition, I always liked to know that real learning was taking place. I never wanted to passively assign my students to complete some work, collect a worksheet, and give a grade. I wanted to see my student’s thinking and feel confident that the work they did was rigorous and accomplished my goals as a teacher. Reading homework was no exception.

NOW AVAILABLE…

One stop teacher memberships.

Our grade-level memberships provide the BIGGEST savings on ALL One Stop Teacher Resources! Get 24/7 access to a library of highly effective, student-approved, educational resources.

For reading homework, I always assigned my students nightly reading and gave them a reading log to complete. Although I never wanted to admit it, I knew that a completed reading log at the end of each week didn’t mean any REAL reading actually took place. It was a problem I was aware of but was too exhausted to find a solution for. It was more than that, though. I had multiple issues.

My Problems…

I had no way of knowing if students were actually reading each night.
Even if students were reading, were they understanding their reading?
Students weren’t practicing the reading skills I needed them to practice.
Was this type of homework (reading logs) meaningful for ALL of my students?

While I do believe children should read purely for the enjoyment of reading, I knew as a teacher I wanted a bit more. I wanted something that I could give my students that would NOT be overwhelming and would reinforce the reading skills I wanted them to practice. This is exactly why I FINALLY created a reading homework system that would solve my problems.

My Solution! I created a reading homework system that…

Exposes students to a new, rigorous, grade-level appropriate text each week.
Focuses on a particular skill (currently learning) while also reinforcing skills that have already been taught.
Requires students to answer text-dependent questions that demand real thinking about the text.
Is short and meaningful…not overwhelming.

Reading homework should be meaningful and rigorous. Come learn how I made a reading homework system that includes reading comprehension practice with text dependent questions, without overwhelming students. I love how this one turned out!

Sounds too good to be true, right? I thought the same thing, but I figured out a way to create such a resource. Here is how it works!

Each week students get the weekly passage and a set of questions broken up into four days (Monday through Thursday).
The text is on-grade level, rigorous, and provides practice with the current skill that is being taught.
Each day, students work through four questions using the same text. Questions are text-dependent and vary in complexity as the days go on and students are more familiar with the text.

To make it even better, I’ve turned it into a 100% digital resource! You can learn more HERE.

That’s it! Simple. This little nightly assignment provides students with meaningful reading practice without taking up too much time and becoming a burden. Students reread the passage each night, improving comprehension and fluency naturally. Also, I love the fact that this assignment can give the teacher a quick peek into what each student still needs help with. If a student is struggling with “Main Idea”, you are going to know it without having to formally assess.

Be sure to check out my other blog post on Getting Rid of Reading Logs!

Be sure to download all of my Reading FREEBIES !

If you love it and want to grab an entire year’s worth for your class, you can find this resource available in Printable and Digital versions.

You Might Also Like...

How can i help.

Connect With Me

U.S/Canada 1.800.393.4636 | International 1.407.796.5200 | [email protected]

Live Courses

5 ideas to make homework meaningful, do you struggle to make homework meaningful for your students.

Looking for ways to make homework meaningful for your students? Then this infographic I found on Twitter is just right and near perfect for you. I watch social media closely and it's my job to share some of the hot topics on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and other outlets that teachers, principals, students, and parents are contributing.

Assigning homework for the sake of giving students homework is never a good idea. If there's no meaning behind the work, students can tell and will grow frustrated with trivial busy work. However, meaningful homework helps contribute to a student's learning process and will help them grow. Quizalize posted an infographic on Twitter that explains five ways teachers can make homework more meaningful. 4 O'clock Faculty created the graphic, which you can see below.

The key components of making homework meaningful are to make the assignments voluntary, differentiate the type of homework different students receive, create options for each student, allow the kids to create their own homework, and give students the chance to pursue their own areas of interest. Cool stuff, I think.

If you're looking for more information about homework help, then check out this article about homework assumptions teachers should try to avoid here .

Which of the five strategies have you used? Do you disagree with any of them? How have you created meaningful homework for your students in the past?

Tori Pakizer is the Social Media Editor at SimpleK12.com. She writes regularly about the use of educational technology in K-12 classrooms, and specializes in how teachers use Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and other social media. You can follow Tori and SimpleK12 on Twitter @SimpleK12. If you have ideas for using social media in schools, please send your information or tip to [email protected].

Professional Development made simple

We offer flexible classes that address the needs of teachers and schools to support today’s classrooms and increase student success

Latest posts

Best teacher certification programs in nevada in 2024, best 7 teacher certification programs in alabama 2024, how long does it take to get a teaching certificate in 2024, sign up for our newsletter.

Professional Development

Useful links.

WOULD YOU LIKE ACCESS TO ALL THE FREEBIES FOR ELEMENTARY TEACHERS? ➔

Homework Ideas for Elementary Teachers: Save Time and Make Learning More Purposeful for Students in 2024

What’s the first word you think of when I say “homework?” It’s one of those hot topics that people feel very strongly about one way or another. However, more often than not, it’s a requirement. As a result, I am here to share homework ideas that will make your life as an elementary teacher a little bit easier.

I used to send homework home nightly, but found it to add chaos to each and every day. I would spend many lunch periods copying an assignment for that night. Kids would forget to take their copy home. Parents would call or email to get clarification on what the assignment was for that night.

Then I switched to a weekly packet. The packet included all of the pages for the week along with a cover sheet that listed spelling words and assignments. This was an improvement, but still not ideal.

Last year, I started using a separate folder just for homework. This is one of the best homework ideas I have come up with. The folder includes the homework calendar and all of the printables they will need for the week. I sent home a Paragraph of the Week assignment each week. The consistency was outstanding. We really felt like we hit gold because the kids were all working on something meaningful with a purpose. The parents liked it because it was easy for them to understand and help with. I began experimenting with a monthly homework packet. And let me tell you…

It. Was. Awesome!

We placed everything into a homework folder for the month and included an assignment calendar. The folder stayed at home and the students returned their completed work each morning in the communication folder . Learn about some of my best homework ideas for elementary teachers below!

Homework is easy with math spiral review no prep printables. Elementary teachers also love them for morning work, quizzes, RtI, bell ringers, guided math workshop warmups & assessments. Homework folders, packets, or binders make organization and management easy. They eliminate the need for test prep yet increases standardized test scores. They’re for second grade, third grade, fourth grade, & fifth grade & include answer keys, digital projectable, & data analysis. Grab the free samples.

7 Benefits of Assigning Homework

Do you question the importance of homework? Are you one of the many teachers or parents who feel homework should be banned? The idea of homework just doesn’t make sense to you. If you are part of the growing number of people questioning if the reasons homework is bad outweigh the benefits to homework, then you might find this to be helpful.

I’m going to be honest, as a teacher (and especially as a parent), I am in the camp of not liking the idea of homework at the elementary level. However, each of the districts I have taught in has required teachers to assign nightly homework in addition to reading for 20 minutes. It often felt like a waste of time and paper.

For some teachers, the word HOMEWORK brings about pangs of dread. Others see it as a necessary evil of learning. For many, it merely represents having to fulfill a district requirement. In many districts these days, homework is not counted towards a student’s overall grade. The debate over homework has been waged for years. The question is: What’s a teacher to do?

No matter where you stand on the topic of homework, here are some ideas related to homework that will make you feel better about assigning homework. They may even make you feel good in some cases! I am hoping the 7 benefits listed below will ease the guilt some teachers feel about burdening their students and their families with tasks to complete at home.

1. Prepares Students for the Next Day’s Learning

A great way to use homework is preparation for an upcoming lesson, whether it’s doing some reading ahead of time, or looking over other assigned material, there’s no doubt that preparing for an upcoming lesson is a beneficial way to assign homework.

2. Increases Responsibility

When a student has a task that they MUST do rather than WANT to do, they learn to be responsible. Homework is the “You do” in the learning model of “I do, We do, You do.”. It gives the learner a chance to practice what was covered in class and take responsibility for their own learning.

3. Advances Problem-Solving Skills

If the student can’t find an answer to something in their homework, (or even where to look for information to find an answer), what steps will they take to solve this problem? Will they look in a dictionary, online, ask a friend, or go to a library? Homework gives students a chance to flex their problem-solving muscles.

4. Offers Review Practice

Whether it’s a new math skill, or spelling/vocabulary words, homework that involves reviewing material covered in class will help students to remember it and is a very useful assignment.

5. Teaches Time Management

For students with an active extra-curricular life, homework teaches them how to manage their time. This helps them learn to prioritize schoolwork.

6. Strengthens Persistence and Grit

There have been many studies done recently that show a lack of persistence and grit in today’s students. Developing the fortitude to complete homework assignments also helps develop a student’s capacity for grit and persistence. These are necessary for success in many areas of life, not just academically.

7. Promotes Self-Esteem

Students will develop a sense of pride when they learn the value of a job well done and take ownership of their work. This carries over into their personal development as well. It is for this reason that homework should always be a review of skills already taught.

5 Problems with Assigning Traditional Homework

These were five of the problems I faced in my 3rd grade classroom. No matter which grade you teach I’m pretty sure you can relate. The good news is I managed to find a solution that saved me time and reduced my stress each day. Not only that, but my students’ math skills were strengthened and their families were less burdened with random assignments each night. Read on to learn about the problems I had and how I solved them.

1. Mandated to Give Homework

My school required we give homework 4 nights per week. It was a mandate, so my personal feelings made no difference. I had to send it nightly.

2. Emails and Calls from Parents

I often received emails and phone calls from confused parents. They often said they didn’t understand the homework or told me that their child said that they had “never seen this stuff before”. Let’s be honest, our time is so limited. We do not want to spend the afternoon or start the morning returning messages explaining directions or convincing someone that you did, in fact, teach it in class.

3. Wasted Class Time Every Day

I needed to spend some of our instructional time every afternoon going over the instructions because each assignment varied.

4. Drop-In Visits from Parents

I frequently had a parent and child return to my classroom because the homework never made it into the backpack. This often resulted in an unplanned conference at a time when I needed to prepare for the next day.

5. Students Forgot what was Taught

Unrelated to homework, I consistently faced a different problem. I often would teach a concept, the students would demonstrate proficiency…and then they didn’t.

How often do you have students who forget what odd and even (or a prime and composite if you teach higher grades) numbers are, not remember how to round to the nearest 10, 100 or 1000, or sit like a deer in headlights when asked to write a number in expanded form in the spring when they were rock stars of that skill in the fall when it was taught.

This is especially troublesome if you teach in a grade that takes standardized testing at the end of the year because you then need to set aside a lot of class time for review and test prep.

How to Grade Homework

Determine if correcting homework is an effective use of your time. Teachers don’t know how much assistance a child had with an assignment so it isn’t always an accurate representation of their abilities. Checking the homework for effort and general understanding may be sufficient. If you are assigning worksheets, consider selecting a few questions to go over in class.

Homework Incentive Ideas

Homework should be completed because it is an expectation and not to receive a trinket. However, some teachers do find that extrinsic rewards are motivational to their students. If you choose to make those a part of your homework procedure, here are a few easy-to-manage suggestions:

Students earn a ticket when they complete an assignment. Have them place the tickets into a container. Draw one ticket a week to win a No Homework Night Coupon.

Certificate

Honor perfect homework efforts with a certificate. This could be done monthly or by marking period.

Offer a “No Homework Coupon.” These are like gold!

Ideas for Homework Consequences

First, check with your school and district to see if there is a policy in place. Next, determine a plan for how you will handle homework that is incomplete, missing, poor quality, etc. and be consistent. Be cautious about using recess as a punishment for not doing homework. Often the kids who are not doing their homework are the ones who most need recess .

10 Homework Tips for Elementary Teachers

Below are homework tips for elementary teachers to consider. You are bound to find some helpful homework ideas on this list that you can implement.

1. Assign Tasks Students can do Independently

The first tip on this list of homework ideas is to strive to find easy-to-manage, yet effective assignments. Although it is true that you shouldn’t be sending home tasks that students can’t complete on their own, you also need to be careful not to give them “busy work” either. Having them complete an assignment for a skill they are proficient in also creates unnecessary work for the teacher. Time is a teacher’s greatest obstacle so be careful not to spend it copying, correcting, managing, chasing, etc sheets of paper that students are not gaining anything from.

2. Keep Homework Assignments Consistent Across the Grade Level

The second tip on this list of homework ideas is to strive to be consistent with your grade level colleagues. Ideally, the assignments and policies should be identical.

3. Collaborate with Your Team

The third tip on this list of homework ideas is to save time by teaming up with the other teacher(s) at your grade level. Alternate prepping the packet for the week or designate different subjects to different teachers.

4. Communicate Expectations with Your Students’ Families

Communicate your expectations with parents from the beginning. Discuss them at open house and make a hard copy available for students who may transfer in later in the year.

5. Change the Way you See Homework

Use homework as an opportunity to teach organization and responsibility. While homework may not always be a reflection of a student’s abilities, it can be a valuable learning tool for time management and work habits.

6. Keep a Simple and Consistent Format

Design a simple and consistent format for homework. It could be reading and a math page every night or you may have students work on a different subject each night. When I taught 2nd grade I used to do Math Monday (computation), Teacher Choice Tuesday (a spelling activity), Word Study Wednesday, Thinking Thursday (word problems).

7. Create a System for Collecting It

The seventh tip on this list of homework ideas is to create a system for collecting it. It’s important to have some sort of turn-in system and procedure so students know what to do with their homework each morning.

8. Implement an Efficient Routine for Checking Homework

Consider implementing an efficient routine for checking homework. If you are just going to check for completion and spot check the homework you could have students place it on their desk while they do morning work and you can circulate and check the pages.

9. Communicate Homework Progress with Parents

Determine how you will communicate homework progress with parents. In general, no news is good news, but I do have a homework alert that gets sent home as needed. It needs to be signed by an adult at home so the families know if they are not meeting the expectations.

10. Consider Creating a Menu of Optional Homework Activities

The last tip on this list of homework ideas is to create a menu of optional homework activities. Some parents find homework to be a burden and others want more. One way to make everyone happy is to send home a basic assignment that is required for all students and a list of optional enrichment choices for those who want additional assignments.

How I Implemented Homework in My Classroom

There are tons of homework ideas out there, but this is what worked for me.

As a public school teacher, I was required to give out nightly homework to my third graders. I found myself spending a lot of time picking out assignments, making copies, communicating directions, answering emails and phone calls from parents who did “not understand the new math” (aka the math workbook pages), distributing, collecting and correcting what essentially was just busy work sent home to meet a requirement I did not agree with.

My biggest concern was (and continues to be) that many of the assignments from the workbook included 10-20 of the same type of problem. That meant that if a student was struggling with subtraction with regrouping and completed 20 problems incorrectly, that misconception and error became so much harder to fix.

Parents were signing reading logs, but the kids weren’t actually reading.

I was frustrated by feeling like my time, the students’ time, and the parents’ time was being wasted. I knew there had to be a better option, so I set out to fix the problem. I’m thrilled with the results I must say.

I began creating spiral review math pages for each day for my own 3rd graders. These pages proved to be important and meaningful work. This resource is best if not one of the best homework ideas I have ever come up with.

What are the Spiral Review Math Pages?

The spiral review math pages are a tool for teachers to use to ensure students are having continued practice with previously taught skills. They are available for 1st-5th grade. The spiral review packets were designed to have 25 pages per month, which gives you the flexibility to assign them for homework every night plus have extras. The 1st grade version is set up a little differently, but still has 180 pages so you’ll be covered for the year.

Each of the spiral review pages follow the same daily format, cover skills from each area (e.g. computation, measurement, geometry, data, and word problems) and continuously spiral previously taught skills. This consistent format of 10 standards-based questions focused on topics we’d already covered provides an important spiral review of all the grade-level skills. This helped students to retain previously taught skills. The added benefit was that students who had not demonstrated proficiency earlier in the year had the opportunity to do so over time through repeated practice and instruction.

Using these spiral review math pages makes homework more purposeful and easier to manage. My students became much stronger in all math concepts, the parents expressed gratitude for the consistent format, and the phone calls and emails asking for assignment clarification completely stopped. It was so effective that it completely eliminated the need for any test prep in the spring. My students’ test scores were even much higher than previous years.

These worked so well for myself and the other 3rd grade teachers who were using them, that (by request) I created them for 2nd, 4th, and 5th grade too. Each was designed in consultation with and piloted by experienced teachers in those grade levels. They have since been used the past few years by thousands of teachers who have reported great success as well. I most recently added first grade.

This is one of my favorite ideas for homework of all time!

$meaningful homework ideas$

What’s Included in the Spiral Review Math Resources?

The 2nd-5th grade packets all have monthly/seasonal themes. September targets many of the skills that were required at the end of the previous grade level. It was designed to be used as a review for the new year and to pinpoint important foundational skills that your students must be proficient in before moving on to new standards. The following months build in a systematic, sequential order with lots of spiral review built in so that students retain important concepts. They include the following resources:

250 print and go pages (plus 10 bonus pages) that will cover you for the full school year
answer keys to make grading quick and easy for you
2,500 review problems (plus 100 bonus problems) based on the Common Core, which will help you rest easy knowing your students are practicing the math concepts and skills they need to
250 Google Forms so students can access them digitally from home or in school
Recording sheets for students to show their thinking
Item analysis data trackers to make it easy to see which students need to be pulled for small groups or if it would be beneficial to reteach the concept to the entire class
Projectable answer keys so students can check their own work

The first grade version is a little different. It’s format has only 5 problems to better meet the developmental needs of our younger learners. It has 180 printable pages instead. In addition, this resource does not include seasonal pages, which allows you to use them at any time of the school year.

Learn more about the spiral review math resources for your grade level below.

1st grade spiral review math activities
2nd grade spiral review math activities
3rd grade spiral review math activities
4th grade spiral review math activities
5th grade spiral review math activities

Where Can I Learn More about Spiral Review Math?

You can learn more about spiral review in this post: Spiral Review Math .

The Benefits of Using Spiral Review Math Pages

There are tons of benefits to using the spiral review math pages for homework.

The spiral review pages provide multiple opportunities for students to become proficient in a skill instead of just teaching it and forgetting it
The repeated spiraling practice of foundational grade level skills ensures they were ready to build upon them when y ou introduce new skills.
You’ll no longer need to waste hours of valuable class time on standardized test prep in the spring because the spiral review throughout the year ensure your students are always ready for the exam.
It constantly shows you if there are skills you need to reteach either to the whole class or to a small group of students.
Students complete them with ease because the skills and the format of the pages are familiar to them.
The variety of 10 different problems eliminates the risk of students cementing a misconception into their minds.

Why You’ll Love it as a Teacher

Not only will the nightly spiral review math pages provide your students with meaningful practice of important skills, increase their confidence as learners and make them stronger math students, they will also solve many of the problems you face as a teacher and make the parents’ lives easier too. It’s one of the best homework ideas I have ever come up with!

You’ll longer needed to scramble to find homework for each night. Instead, simply print each month’s pages at the start of the new month and copy them all at once into weekly packets for the students.
Your lesson planning will become much more intentional and focused because you are able to easily identify which skills your students need to work on more.
You will no long waste valuable time correcting busy work. Instead, you’ll go over these important skills as a class.
Parents will feel better about being able to help their students and became true allies and partners in their learning.
Students and their families will be able to better enjoy their evenings together as a family because they know what to consistently expect for homework each evening.
Distributing the week’s packet all at once enables students’ families to support my goal of teaching time management because they can work ahead when they know there is a busy night coming up on their calendars.
Homework will be easier for you and more meaningful for your students.
The homework assignments will be systematic and routine so parents and students will always know exactly what the expectations are and understand the instructions.
You will constantly review all prior skills so that your student reach mastery over time. This will prevent students from forgetting what they learned earlier in the year.

How to Implement them in Your Classroom

I used a separate folder just for homework. It included the homework calendar and all of the printables they will need for the week. We placed everything into a homework folder for the month. The folder stayed at home and the students returned their completed work each morning in the communication folder .

I assembled the homework packets for the entire year in one afternoon and didn’t have to think about it again the rest of the school year. I sent them home on Friday afternoons.

The students simply completed one page each night beginning on Monday afternoons and returned only that one page to class in the morning. The other nightly pages remained at home.

This meant I no longer needed to take any class time to explain the directions or check to make sure the papers made it into the backpacks.

The next morning I projected the answer sheet onto my smart board and reviewed each problem with them. This daily quick review made them accountable and reinforced all of the math skills regularly. Going over it in class sent the message that the work they did outside of school was purposeful and they would be accountable for it. They no longer felt homework was a waste of time so they demonstrated increased effort.

I also created data collection sheets to use either with one specific student’s page, or to examine the class as a whole. The pages were so easy to use and let me see at a glance where I needed to focus future instruction.

How Can I Use the Extra Spiral Review Pages in the Packet?

There are 25 pages per month in each of the spiral review resources. Since you’ll never need to use all 25 for homework purposes, consider using the extra pages in the following ways:

formative assessment to monitor progress
morning work
math center activity (“at your seat” activity during Guided Math Workshop )
Emergency sub plans activity

Where Can I Buy the Math Spiral Review Pages?

You can purchase the math spiral review pages from my Teachers Pay Teachers store . They are also available in my Elementary Math Resource Collection and grade level math clubs, which you can find below.

What Teachers Who Used these Packets Have Said

Thousands of teachers have used this homework idea in their classroom. Read some of the reviews below!

“WOW! I’ve been teaching for 16 years and this has been the most useful thing I have used. My students really understand all of the skills and I loved knowing I wasn’t moving on without all my kids being proficient. The beautiful layout, structured format, and clear expectations made it so easy to make these become part of our daily routine. I highly recommend them to everyone.” (Thank you Jocelyn P.!)
“I started using your monthly spiral review pages in October and never looked back. Not only did they provide us with quality daily work, but I just got my end of year scores back for the district math assessments and my entire class crushed it. I attribute their success 100% to these pages combined with your guided math book that opened my eyes to a whole new way of teaching. I can’t thank you enough. My administration has taken notice. I’m so proud of what we’ve done.” (Thank you Kerri K.!)
My teammates and I had the opportunity to see you present about guided math and math workshop and excitedly jumped right in with your guided math format the next week! We have been using the spiral review pages as homework and in the “at your seat” station during our daily math workshop. OMG!!! We ALL agree that between the new teaching routines and the use of these pages, our students are consistently performing above average and truly understand the math. It’s not just our opinion either because we just received our test scores from last year and they were not only MUCH higher than ever before, but we outscored the district and student growth from the previous year was amazing. That was what prompted me to finally leave a review. I/we can not recommend these enough. Thank you for not only making our jobs easier, but so much more enjoyable as well. (Thank you Jessica R.!)
These are absolutely wonderful for my students! I use them for a variety of things including review and homework. (Thanks Tony C.!)
“Love the data sheets! Great way for me and my students to monitor their learning.” (Thanks Kelsey!)

In closing, we hope you found these homework ideas for teachers helpful! If you haven’t already checked out this post about spiral review math , please be sure to do so!

Read more about: ELEMENTARY TEACHING , PLANNING ASSESSING AND TEACHING

You might also like these posts...

Would you rather printables for elementary students: september edition, back to school would you rather activities for elementary students, would you rather questions and activities for elementary students: june edition.

LET'S CONNECT

Hey there! I’m Jodi. I am a National Board Certified teacher with 17 years of experience in the classroom.

I created Clutter-Free Classroom to support busy elementary teachers like you!

FREEBIES FOR TEACHERS

Join the 75,000+ elementary teachers who receive free resources from us each week.

Skip to primary navigation
Skip to main content
Skip to primary sidebar
Skip to footer

StoryLearning

Learn A Language Through Stories

11 ESL Homework Ideas To Engage Your Learners & Simplify Lesson Planning

Are you looking for ESL homework ideas for your classes? If you’re thinking about setting homework you’re onto a good thing. Learning a language requires a lot of exposure and practice. And much of that happens outside of class.

The more students make contact with English outside the classroom, the faster they’ll progress. And if you can connect their homework assignments to what you’re teaching in class, you’ll make lesson planning a lot easier for yourself.

So, without further ado, here are 11 ESL homework ideas for adults that you can use with groups, individuals, in-person or online.

If you want to become a qualified online language teacher and earn a living from home, I recommend checking out CeOLT (Certificate of Online Language Teaching).

Click here to find out more .

How To Make Homework Work For You &Your Students

Many ESL teachers are wary of setting homework because students often don’t do it! You may remember being set useless homework in language classes that you weren't motivated to do, such as learning lists of words for a test.

The problem is, if ESL learners rely too much on you or on coming to lessons, they will make slow progress because so much language learning takes place outside of the classroom.

The trick then is to integrate homework assignments into what happens in class so that it becomes non-negotiable. In the list of ESL homework ideas below, you’ll find tasks that are fun and motivating to do as well as ways to fit them into your class time.

1.Read A Short Story Or Short Book Chapter

Reading is the foundation of the StoryLearning method and makes for the perfect ESL homework idea.

Instead of spending time reading in class, get the students to do it between classes.

They can find a quiet time to read the story or chapter as many times as they like.

In my short story books , they’ll find tools to help them understand the material such as glossaries and comprehension questions.

In class, students can then discuss the chapter or story together. If you’re teaching 1:1, you can ask them to present a summary and show you new words they learned from the chapter. You can then discuss it together.

For more ideas on how to use my short story books for teaching check out my Short Stories teacher’s Guide .

2. Listen To A Short Podcast Episode

Many ESL students struggle with English listening skills so they need as much practice as possible.

If you teach conversation classes then this activity will also mean fewer lesson planning headaches. And you won’t waste any class time on listening.

Tell your student to listen to a short ESL podcast such as the BBC’s 6-Minute English podcast. Ask them to prepare a summary of it to present to you in class. If the episode includes show notes, they can compare their summary with those notes.

You can also adapt this homework activity for groups and ask them to discuss the podcast in pairs in class. This is also a great opportunity to use class time to clarify and new words, or structures that came up in the episode.

If you’re feeling ambitious or your students have a high level, you could plan a whole series of lessons or a semester around a particular podcast such as a true crime or other investigative journalism show.

3. Presentation About A Passion

Not everyone is passionate about learning English and many ESL students come to class because they have to. But even if they’re not interested in English, they must be interested in something, right?

You can harness their hobbies and passions and generate some excitement for the English language by asking them to present a special object to the rest of the class.

This can also work well in a 1:1 online lesson. You can ask your student to prepare a short talk about an object that they hold up to the webcam to show you.

You can use time in class to work on presentation and storytelling skills. You can model this type of presentation by telling them about your own significant object so they know what to aim for.

4. Write A Review

Who doesn’t love sharing their opinion whether it’s about the latest movie they’ve seen or the hot new restaurant they had dinner at?

You can harness this desire and get your student to practice useful language by getting them to write reviews as homework. These could be movie reviews, product reviews, restaurant reviews etc.

In class, you can take a look at the structure of reviews in English plus the language used such as colourful adjectives or phrases for giving opinions.

That way, your students will have a model they can use to write their own reviews at home. Back in class, students can share their reviews with each other and discuss them – would they see this movie, buy this product etc or not based on the review.

You can also give feedback both about the content of the reviews as well as any language points to improve.

5. Get Creative

Creativity requires constraints and there’s no greater one than writing a story in your second, third or fourth language.

You can challenge students to write a short story based on words they’ve learned recently in class or on a particular topic you’ve been discussing. Give them a word count to respect as well.

Again, you can use class time to read stories together and analyse their structure so that they know what to aim for.

After they’ve written a short story at home, they can come back to class to read and discuss each others’ stories.

6. Share Amazing Anecdotes

Telling an interesting anecdote is a real skill in any language, especially in a new one that you're learning. But it's a great way to work on your speaking skills.

You can use your class time to read or listen to anecdotes in English. You could even tell your learners a funny or sad story about yourself. Once they’ve understood what makes a great anecdote, it’s time to create their own one for homework.

At home, learners can write their anecdotes, or even better, can prepare and rehearse them orally, so they’re ready to tell them in class.

During the lesson, you and the other students can react to the anecdotes and ask follow-up questions.

7. Blogs And Blogging

Did you know that blogs are an incredibly rich resource for language learning and teaching? You can use blogs in many ways both inside and outside of the classroom.

As a homework activity you could ask students to read a blog post of their choice and leave a comment for the writer.

If your students prefer watching YouTube videos, they can watch videos and leave comments underneath them.

In both cases, in class time, students can report back on the blog they read, why they chose it and what comment they left and why.

If you and your students are feeling really ambitious, you could start a class blog or they could start writing their own individual blogs about their English learning journeys.

For even more inspiration for your teaching, check out these best ESL bloggers .

8. Start A Podcast

This one is a bit more ambitious, but as well as listening to podcasts, learners can also consider starting their own!

In fact, English learner Daniel Goodson from Switzerland started his podcast, My Fluent Podcast , to develop his speaking skills and gain confidence. He interviews other learners who have similar projects.

Of course, your students don’t have to make the podcast public. It can simply be a project between you and the members of the class. They could interview each other or otherwise upload short episodes on a topic of their choice.

Again, if they do this outside of class as homework you can use time in class to give them feedback on their work. Their episodes can also be a springboard for further discussion as well as a listening comprehension activity for the other students.

9. Class WhatsApp Group

Another way for students to use English outside the classroom thanks to digital tools is to create a class WhatsApp group.

Other chat apps like Telegram or Voxer would work just as well.

In this group, you can ask your students questions or share material for them to discuss.

Their homework in this case could be as simple as sending at least one message per week in the group. For more ideas about using apps check out this post about English teaching apps.

10. Write A Letter

Do you remember writing letters to a pen friend when you were learning languages at school?

Instead of writing letters to someone else, your students can try some creative writing activities that involve writing letters to themselves.

That’s right, you can ask them to write a letter to their younger self with advice or to their future self about goals and dreams. There’s even a website where you can write and schedule a letter to your future self called FutureMe .

This activity is quite a personal one so you’d need to be willing to get vulnerable yourself and share your letter before encouraging your students to talk to each other about the content of their letters.

11. The Student Becomes The Teacher

Here’s an interesting reversal of classroom roles that works well with groups. For homework, you can ask your students to teach the rest of the class some new vocabulary or a spelling or grammar rule.

You won’t expect them to give a whole class on the topic. But they could do a short presentation of the topic in the format they prefer – through song or story or in a more traditional way.

As long as you keep expectations clear, they’ll benefit from peer teaching this way. After all, you can only teach what you’ve understood well yourself.

11 ESL Homework Ideas

So there you have it – 11 engaging ESL homework ideas that your students will actually want to do outside of class!

As you can see, these ESL homework ideas are a million miles away from the types of boring worksheets that you had to fill in for language classes at school.

Thanks to these engaging ideas, you’ll make your lesson planning easier and your students will be excited to do their homework. And they’ll start to become more independent learners who make faster progress.

Language Courses

Language Blog
Testimonials
Meet Our Team
Media & Press

Download this article as a FREE PDF ?

What is your current level in Swedish?

Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Swedish tips…

Where shall I send the tips and your PDF?

We will protect your data in accordance with our data policy.

What is your current level in Danish?

Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Danish tips…

NOT INTERESTED?

What can we do better? If I could make something to help you right now, w hat would it be?

Which language are you learning?

What is your current level in [language] ?

Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] [language] tips, PLUS your free StoryLearning Kit…

Where shall I send them?

Download this article as a FREE PDF?

Great! Where shall I send my best online teaching tips and your PDF?

Download this article as a FREE PDF ?

What is your current level in Arabic?

Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Arabic tips…

FREE StoryLearning Kit!

Join my email newsletter and get FREE access to your StoryLearning Kit — discover how to learn languages through the power of story!

Download a FREE Story in Japanese!

Enter your email address below to get a FREE short story in Japanese and start learning Japanese quickly and naturally with my StoryLearning® method!

What is your current level in Japanese?

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Japanese StoryLearning® Pack …

Where shall I send your download link?

Download Your FREE Natural Japanese Grammar Pack

Enter your email address below to get free access to my Natural Japanese Grammar Pack and learn to internalise Japanese grammar quickly and naturally through stories.

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Natural Japanese Grammar Pack …

What is your current level in Portuguese?

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Natural Portuguese Grammar Pack …

What is your current level in German?

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Natural German Grammar Pack …

Train as an Online Language Teacher and Earn from Home

The next cohort of my Certificate of Online Language Teaching will open soon. Join the waiting list, and we’ll notify you as soon as enrolment is open!

Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Portuguese tips…

What is your current level in Turkish?

Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Turkish tips…

What is your current level in French?

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the French Vocab Power Pack …

What is your current level in Italian?

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Italian Vocab Power Pack …

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the German Vocab Power Pack …

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Japanese Vocab Power Pack …

Download Your FREE Japanese Vocab Power Pack

Enter your email address below to get free access to my Japanese Vocab Power Pack and learn essential Japanese words and phrases quickly and naturally. (ALL levels!)

Download Your FREE German Vocab Power Pack

Enter your email address below to get free access to my German Vocab Power Pack and learn essential German words and phrases quickly and naturally. (ALL levels!)

Download Your FREE Italian Vocab Power Pack

Enter your email address below to get free access to my Italian Vocab Power Pack and learn essential Italian words and phrases quickly and naturally. (ALL levels!)

Download Your FREE French Vocab Power Pack

Enter your email address below to get free access to my French Vocab Power Pack and learn essential French words and phrases quickly and naturally. (ALL levels!)

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Portuguese StoryLearning® Pack …

What is your current level in Russian?

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Natural Russian Grammar Pack …

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Russian StoryLearning® Pack …

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Italian StoryLearning® Pack …

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Natural Italian Grammar Pack …

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the French StoryLearning® Pack …

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Natural French Grammar Pack …

What is your current level in Spanish?

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Spanish Vocab Power Pack …

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Natural Spanish Grammar Pack …

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the Spanish StoryLearning® Pack …

Where shall I send them?

What is your current level in Korean?

Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Korean tips…

Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Russian tips…

Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Japanese tips…

What is your current level in Chinese?

Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Chinese tips…

Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Spanish tips…

Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Italian tips…

Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] French tips…

Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] German tips…

Download Your FREE Natural Portuguese Grammar Pack

Enter your email address below to get free access to my Natural Portuguese Grammar Pack and learn to internalise Portuguese grammar quickly and naturally through stories.

Download Your FREE Natural Russian Grammar Pack

Enter your email address below to get free access to my Natural Russian Grammar Pack and learn to internalise Russian grammar quickly and naturally through stories.

Download Your FREE Natural German Grammar Pack

Enter your email address below to get free access to my Natural German Grammar Pack and learn to internalise German grammar quickly and naturally through stories.

Download Your FREE Natural French Grammar Pack

Enter your email address below to get free access to my Natural French Grammar Pack and learn to internalise French grammar quickly and naturally through stories.

Download Your FREE Natural Italian Grammar Pack

Enter your email address below to get free access to my Natural Italian Grammar Pack and learn to internalise Italian grammar quickly and naturally through stories.

Download a FREE Story in Portuguese!

Enter your email address below to get a FREE short story in Brazilian Portuguese and start learning Portuguese quickly and naturally with my StoryLearning® method!

Download a FREE Story in Russian!

Enter your email address below to get a FREE short story in Russian and start learning Russian quickly and naturally with my StoryLearning® method!

Download a FREE Story in German!

Enter your email address below to get a FREE short story in German and start learning German quickly and naturally with my StoryLearning® method!

Perfect! You’ve now got access to the German StoryLearning® Pack …

Download a FREE Story in Italian!

Enter your email address below to get a FREE short story in Italian and start learning Italian quickly and naturally with my StoryLearning® method!

Download a FREE Story in French!

Enter your email address below to get a FREE short story in French and start learning French quickly and naturally with my StoryLearning® method!

Download a FREE Story in Spanish!

Enter your email address below to get a FREE short story in Spanish and start learning Spanish quickly and naturally with my StoryLearning® method!

FREE Download:

The rules of language learning.

Enter your email address below to get free access to my Rules of Language Learning and discover 25 “rules” to learn a new language quickly and naturally through stories.

What can we do better ? If I could make something to help you right now, w hat would it be?

What is your current level in [language]?

Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] [language] tips…

Download Your FREE Spanish Vocab Power Pack

Enter your email address below to get free access to my Spanish Vocab Power Pack and learn essential Spanish words and phrases quickly and naturally. (ALL levels!)

Download Your FREE Natural Spanish Grammar Pack

Enter your email address below to get free access to my Natural Spanish Grammar Pack and learn to internalise Spanish grammar quickly and naturally through stories.

Free Step-By-Step Guide:

How to generate a full-time income from home with your English… even with ZERO previous teaching experience.

What is your current level in Thai?

Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Thai tips…

What is your current level in Cantonese?

Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Cantonese tips…

Steal My Method?

I’ve written some simple emails explaining the techniques I’ve used to learn 8 languages…

I want to be skipped!

I’m the lead capture, man!

Join 84,574 other language learners getting StoryLearning tips by email…

“After I started to use your ideas, I learn better, for longer, with more passion. Thanks for the life-change!” – Dallas Nesbit

Perfect! You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] [language] tips…

Join 122,238 other language learners getting StoryLearning tips by email…

Find the perfect language course for you.

Looking for world-class training material to help you make a breakthrough in your language learning?

Click ‘start now’ and complete this short survey to find the perfect course for you!

Do you like the idea of learning through story?

Do you want…?

Setting meaningful homework for ESL learners – Top tips and ideas

By: Anna McIver
In: ESL Activities

Homework is often disliked by students and can make extra work for teachers if it involves marking. Depending on where you work, homework may or may not be part of your curriculum, but it certainly can be used in meaningful ways to extend student learning.

If you’re not sure what homework to set, how to make it useful and worthwhile, or looking for ways to avoid creating extra work for yourself, we have just the article for you!

Here we will explore several approaches to setting homework which ensures progress, learning, and both teachers and students feel the benefit.

So why bother setting homework?

When used well, homework can add a lot to a student’s learning experience and help them to develop their English skills between classes – something many may not usually do. Homework should, of course, be beneficial rather than a process of ticking a box to say you’ve set it.

“Homework assignments should not feel like mindless, repetitive exercises; rather, they should present novel problems for students to solve, require them to apply what they’ve learned in new ways, or ask them to stretch to the next level.” Carol Dweck – Author of – Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

So all of this is well and good, but how do we as a teacher ensure the homework we expect our students to do is not boring, has meaning and can push them to improve their language skills .

First, we should consider the following homework tips:

Homework should be reasonably quick to complete (this will help students find time to finish it too).
Tasks do not need to be marked – instead, why not check answers as a class, feedback key ideas as a warmer or have students discuss in groups during the following class. This approach also means students who were absent when homework was set do not feel excluded when you review.
Try to allow for differentiation wherever possible. This means students of different levels can all complete the same task at varying levels. The easiest way to do this is to make homework fairly open to avoid.
Consider the resources available to your students. For example, don’t assume everyone has access to the internet at home – if you know your class well, you will avoid setting tasks that some students simply can’t complete.
Write homework tasks on the board. If you only say it out loud, students are unlikely to make a note of it and will probably forget.

Further Reading: Click here to for a few tips on how to support your child in improving their homework .

Interesting and meaningful homework assignments – Our top picks

1. Quick survey:

Have students do mini surveys at the end of class in groups with maybe 5 -10 questions depending on their level.

They should then ask the questions and complete the survey ready to report back their findings. This can be linked to what you are learning in class, plus it develops teamwork skills, writing, speaking and listening all in one go.

2. Use of technology:

Assuming students do have internet access, setting a quick video to watch or podcast to listen is a simple, effective way of continuing their English practice outside class.

Just remember to make sure you consider age, level and cultural background before choosing. Again, this type of task is relevant and up-to-date and allows for feedback and discussion as a follow-up.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/news/watch_newsround is a great video resource for news rounds up in British English with accessible language and often funny or unusual news stories.

https://www.podcastsinenglish.com/ is another good site which provides a range of podcasts which can be chosen based on student’s levels.

3. Creative videos

Another fun and meaningful homework is asking students to make a short video on their phone (maybe 2 minutes long).

Again this will depend on your class and school’s rules on technology. But if you can do it, then it’s an enjoyable and useful assignment. Students just need to film and narrate, in English of course. This could include pets, other family members, a review of food they have eaten and so on and so forth.

Students then share their videos with a partner in the next class and ask questions about them.

4. Flipped approach:

Maybe you’ve heard of the flipped classroom approach? This is known as blended learning and is popular with many institutions to link student school lives with their home lives.

New thinking or information is introduced at home via homework first – so students work on content such as a video or reading independently.

In theory, they then come to class with some prior knowledge and maybe some questions or ideas to share with the class. This requires well-motivated students so we would suggest using this approach sometimes rather than for every homework!

Also consider your content carefully, thinking about time frames as well as opportunities for all learners.

Conclusion: To draw together our thoughts on homework, we refer to a quote from Alfie Kohn.

“ If… students groan about, or try to avoid homework, it’s generally because they get too much of it, or because it’s assigned thoughtlessly and continuously, or simply because they had nothing to say about it. ”

We feel that this comment demonstrates that homework should be thought out carefully, taking into consideration the age, level and background of the class it is being set for.

Homework set for the sake of it will often be ignored, dismissed and forgotten about by the majority of your class so knowing why you’re setting it and what you want students to gain is really important.

With your students in mind and learning objectives considered your homework will become more meaningful before you know it. We hope you can incorporate some of our ideas into your own ESL classroom very soon!

This article was originally published on June 16, 2020 and was last updated on August 30, 2021.

Courses We Offer:

1. CertTESOL: Certificate in TESOL

A level 5, initial teacher training qualification for new and experienced teachers, enabling you to teach English anywhere in the world. The course is equivalent to Cambridge CELTA.

2. Online TEFL Certification

Developed by our Trinity CertTESOL experts, for a comprehensive, self-paced learning experience. Earn an internationally recognized certificate and master essential teaching skills, accessible globally 24/7.

Keep On Reading

6 tips to help children improve their homework making them confident
How to set up a positive, loving environment for your students

Courses Offered

Trinity CertTESOL Course
Online TEFL Course

Teach English Abroad - Get Started

Take your first steps towards becoming a well-rounded ESOL professional. Download the application form NOW!

Our Courses

Online TEFL

Quick Links

Certtesol links.

Eligibility
Dates & Fees
Accreditations
Job Support
Teaching English in HK

Office Address

6/F Gee Tuck Building, 16-20 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Contact Details

The CertTESOL course is registered under the Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance (Course Registration 250562). It is a matter of discretion for individual employers to recognize any qualification to which this course may lead.

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience.

13 Entertaining ESL Homework Ideas to Keep Your Students Engaged

Homework may not be many students’ favorite thing, but research says it’s truly an effective learning tool that teachers should use .

The trick is assigning great homework.

To help you do this with ease, we’ve compiled an awesome list of 13 homework assignments that will have your ESL students begging for more.

1. Read a Short Story

2. share a passion, 3. start a chat group, 4. listen to a podcast, 5. write a letter, 6. write an amazon review, 7. do a wikipedia edit, 8. write a short story or poem, 9. share their culture, 10. catch a movie, 11. meet new people, 12. analyze a song, 13. go on a photo scavenger hunt, what makes homework effective.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Have students read a short story for homework and then ask them to tell the class about the story in the next session.

I would recommend giving students some suggestions on what short stories to read, depending on the level of your students.

Here are some suggestions of short story collections for each level of ESL learner:

“The Very First Americans” by Cara Ashrose: This collection of short stories features Native American culture and history, written in simple language.
“Oxford Bookworms Library: Starter Level” This series offers simplified versions of classic stories, such as fairy tales, adventure stories and more.
“Classic Tales for ESL Students” by L.A. Hill: This collection of classic stories from literature is retold with easier vocabulary and sentence structure.

Intermediate

“The Best American Short Stories” This series features contemporary short stories from a wide range of American writers, so there’s something for everyone here.
“Short Stories in English for Intermediate Learners” by Olly Richards: This collection of engaging stories is designed specifically for intermediate ESL students.
“Roald Dahl: The Collected Short Stories” This delightful collection of quirky and imaginative tales has become a favorite of many of my students.
“Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri: This Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories explores the immigrant experience, something which many ESL students can relate to.
“Dubliners” by James Joyce: This classic collection of interconnected stories captures the essence of Dublin in 1914. But it still feels modern to many students.
“Nine Stories” by J.D. Salinger: This classic collection of short stories is a class favorite when I’ve used it.

What do your students really care about? Give them a chance to talk about it in front of the class.

Have each person choose something they’re passionate about, something they might consider themselves an expert on.

Challenge students to think of a creative way to present five must-know facts about that subject. They might make a movie, create a poster or brochure, write a song or even put on a skit.

Have each person present their creative project to the class, and then give the class five minutes to ask questions of the presenter.

Set certain parameters like students must speak in complete sentences or require that every student ask at least two questions at some point during the presentations.

Students will love sharing about their passions, and they’ll get some great speaking, listening and discourse information in the process, as well as teach the rest of the class some interesting vocabulary.

Ask for class for a volunteer to start a class WhatsApp chat group. They can also decide to use another messaging app like Telegram, Viber, Voxer or any other app that has a group chat function.

Encourage them to send at least one message and to respond to a couple others for their homework.

This text group has the added advantage of students being able to make friends with one another, and a place to ask about missed homework assignments on days when they can’t make it to class.

Note that if a student doesn’t want to be included in the chat group, you should have a back up assignment prepared for them.

Listening is one of the ESL student’s most difficult skills to acquire, so listening to a short podcast episode is ideal homework.

You can ask students to write a little about the podcast to turn in to you, or you can ask them to briefly summarize what they heard for the class in the next session.

Here are some suggestions for well done podcasts:

The English We Speak : Produced by the BBC, this podcast focuses on teaching commonly used phrases and idioms in conversational English.

The Moth : A storytelling podcast where real people share their personal experiences and anecdotes in English.

Stuff You Should Know : Though not specifically designed for ESL students, this podcast covers a vast array of interesting topics, providing exposure to diverse vocabulary and subject matters.

Ask your students to write a letter . The letter can be written to a friend or family member (which they could then actually mail or email), or it could be a fan letter to a favorite musician or actor. They could even write a letter to Santa Claus or a historical figure.

For example, a student might choose to write a letter to Marie Antoinette, asking her what it was like to be the queen of France at such a young age.

You can also choose to have students write letters to one another. Then the next homework can be writing that letter writer back.

Ask you students to review a product on Amazon (or any other shopping website that has reviews). Ask them to select a product they have really used, so they have a genuine opinion on the quality of the product and whether it lived up to their expectations.

Then, in the next session, show the reviews on the overhead projector to the class and ask a student to read the review.

You can then go over any errors in vocabulary, grammar or sentence structure and revise the review together as a class.

Since anyone can edit a Wikipedia article, it’s a great place for ESL students to hone their writing and editing skills, and they’ll have a built-in readership, too!

Ask students to select a person that they know a lot about—a well-known figure from history, pop culture, music or film would all work. Then ask them to read the Wikipedia entry to see if they can add anything else to the article.

Perhaps the article on Ryan Gosling is missing a key detail about his recent Ken performance. If so, the student will revise and edit the article. They should take notes on what they changed, so they can explain it to you or the class the next day.

Ask your students to get creative. Have them write a short story or a poem . This can get them to use descriptive language that they don’t always have a chance to use.

One good activity to do before you assign this homework is an adjective bubble chart. For this, you start with one adjective. For example, write “moist” on the board, circle it and then draw 4-5 lines coming off of the”moist” bubble.

Ask your students to come up with other adjectives that are related to “moist” and so on. They may come up with “wet,” “watery,” “soaked” or “damp.” Then draw lines from each of those. This can lead to words that you never expected to come up.

Have your students select 3-4 adjectives from this introduction activity that they’ll use in their story or poem.

Ask your students to prepare a short presentation on an aspect of their home culture to tell the class about in the next session.

For example, a student from China may explain the Lunar New Year, a student from Vietnam may explain Tet or a student from El Salvador may tell the class about their quinceañera .

They can use photos, art, a PowerPoint presentation or they can just explain in their own words.

Then open the class up for questions.

Can you legitimately send students to the movies for homework? You can when you’re teaching ESL.

Your students don’t have to commit to a full-length movie. Instead, you can use the videos on FluentU to screen mini-lessons using clips from TV shows and movies, movie trailers, news segments, vlogs or music videos.

Use these videos in the classroom or assign homework to watch a few and complete the subsequent quizzes. You can also ask students to complete flashcard quizzes based on vocabulary words you want them to pay special attention to. These quizzes are adaptable so every student will have a unique experience catered to his learning level.

There are plenty of ways to use a movie for language development. And whether students watch a new release or catch an old Elvis flick on TV, they can do any of the following activities as homework:

Summarize the plot.
Describe a main character.
Note new or interesting vocabulary (particularly slang) they hear while watching.
Write an interview with one of the characters in the movie.

I’m sure you also have your favorite movie-related language activities and many work as homework assignments. So get creative with how you have students share about what they watched.

For the most part, people are willing to help someone in need, and that is doubly true for someone who needs to complete an assignment for school.

That’s why sending students out to interview native speakers on campus is such a fun homework assignment.

Start by helping your students write a list of questions they’ll use for their interviews. Students can choose a topic or you can assign one, like leisure activities or celebrity news.

Tell students to list five to ten questions they might ask on that topic that will elicit specific answers.

As a class, discuss how students might introduce themselves to a potential interviewee.

Then send students out to their interviews after class. They can share the answers they got in the next session.

Music is great for English learners since it stresses many aspects of language that can otherwise be hard to isolate, like the emotion of language, intonation and stress.

Have students choose their favorite English language song to listen to for homework and then ask them to do the following:

Practice the lyrics to learn intonation and rhythm.
Note slang and cultural references in the songs.
Summarize the theme of the song, or just what it’s about.
Have students share their favorite lyrics and what a particular song means to them.

Give individual students or groups of up to three students a list of items to find on their homework scavenger hunt. But instead of being specific in your list (for example, including items such as cat), be descriptive in your list.

You might include items such as something frightening, something beautiful, something quiet, something cool.

Students find items they think fit the description. For example, someone who is claustrophobic might choose an elevator for something frightening. They then take a picture of it.

The next day, have each person get with a partner and show them the pictures they took for each item on the list.

If the connection is not obvious, students should ask their partner to explain why they chose a particular item, such as the elevator.

Assigning homework that works isn’t as hard as you might think, especially if you focus on the following points.

Put your homework in writing. It can be tempting to just announce homework assignments to students at the end of class, but language learners benefit when you reinforce what you say with what they can see. So take a minute to write any homework assignment on the board so students can read it as well as listen to it.
Let students know what goals you have for a particular assignment. Is it practicing a certain grammar point ? Improving their listening skills ? Pronunciation practice ? When students know why they’re doing something, they’ll be able to tell on their own when they’ve successfully completed their homework assignment.
Keep your homework practical . Your students may not find themselves planning out a menu for Thanksgiving when they leave your ESL classroom, but odds are they’ll have to order food at a restaurant at some point. Think about realistic ways students will have to use English in the real world and try to make your homework practical.
Let your students be creative . Give your students choices on how they express themselves or present information. It’s okay for students to make a home movie, put on a one-man play or paint a picture to present to the class. Just because you prefer a particular type of creative expression doesn’t mean your students do, so give them choices and let them express themselves.
Make homework fun! Every class has its own personality, so what’s fun for one might not be fun for another. Tailor your assignments to the personality of your class. Think about what they would think is fun, and go with that.

No matter what you believed in your student days, homework doesn’t have to be boring. With a little creativity when assigning homework, you might find that the activities you assign for outside of class become the highlights of your students’ days.

Enter your e-mail address to get your free PDF!

We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe

Homework for ESL Students – 10 Ideas for Teachers

Meet David De’ Ath , founder, editor, and writer at Wonderful World English. With his extensive background as an English teacher, David provides valuable insights and practical tips on ESL for students and teachers alike.

Learning English as a Second Language (ESL) is an enriching venture and offers students the ability to access global opportunities.

Homework in ESL is crucial, serving as a bridge between classroom theory and practical language use.

It’s essential for reinforcing learned concepts and enhancing general language proficiency.

To make this learning journey both effective and enjoyable, it’s important to craft homework tasks that are engaging and tailored to diverse learning styles.

This approach helps to maintain students’ interest and motivation, which are key to successful language acquisition.

These ESL homework ideas are designed to enhance language learning and engage students both in and out of the classroom: Daily journaling, vocabulary flashcards, reading comprehension, listening to podcasts/songs, video diaries, role-play scenarios, grammar worksheets, online games, book club discussions, and a pen pal program.

I am an experienced ESL teacher, and I can attest first-hand to the importance of self-study, homework, and review.

Our carefully selected ten homework ideas aim to transform routine learning into an exciting adventure.

These activities are more than just assignments; they’re interactive experiences designed to deepen students’ understanding of English.

From creative writing to practical exercises, these tasks are intended to make learning English a dynamic and enjoyable process, paving the way for a richer, more confident use of the language.

Homework Ideas for ESL Students

ESL students need more than just traditional classroom lessons.

Homework is a vital part of their language development and serves as a bridge between acquired knowledge and practical application.

The following homework ideas are designed to captivate students’ interest, deepen their understanding, and enhance their fluency in English in the classroom and real-life situations.

Let’s dive into these creative and effective homework strategies that promise a richer, more interactive language learning experience:

1. Daily Journaling

This is a great idea to engage students by embracing the habit of maintaining a daily journal.

Writing about their daily experiences, emotions, thoughts, or selected topics can sharpen their writing skills while learning to articulate their feelings and ideas in English.

This journaling process serves a dual purpose: it strengthens their grasp of the language and provides a personal space for self-expression.

As they regularly engage with this practice, English becomes an integral part of their daily routine and will facilitate a more natural and fluent use of the language in their everyday lives.

This activity bolsters their linguistic abilities and fosters a deeper connection with English as a medium of personal reflection and expression.

Writing is a huge aspect of mastering a language.

For a guide on how to improve writing skills for yourself or your students, click the link below!

Related Article: How to Sharpen Writing Skills – Full Guide

2. Making Flashcards

Students can develop their vocabulary skills through the classic and effective method of creating flashcards.

This exercise involves students writing down new words and their meanings on individual cards.

They can add illustrations or use words in sentences to make the learning process more engaging and impactful.

This visual and contextual approach helps better retain and understand new vocabulary.

By regularly reviewing these flashcards, students can gradually build a robust vocabulary base, which is essential for fluency in English.

This method will reinforce their word knowledge and encourage active engagement with the language, making vocabulary learning a more interactive and enjoyable experience.

Flashcards are suitable for students of all ages and can be fun.

For some great insights on effectively teaching ESL students vocabulary, the guide below is for you!

Related Article: How to Teach Vocabulary to ESL Students – The Guide

3. Reading Comprehension Exercises

Immerse more advanced students in the world of English reading by assigning short stories or articles complemented by comprehension questions.

This exercise is pivotal in enhancing their reading skills and deepening their understanding of various contexts in English.

Students encounter different writing styles, vocabularies, and themes by engaging with diverse texts, enriching their language experience.

The follow-up questions serve to test their understanding and encourage critical thinking about the content.

This approach bolsters their ability to comprehend English texts and stimulates their analytical skills, making them more adept at interpreting and engaging with the language in its written form.

Such reading exercises are fundamental in helping students gain confidence and proficiency in navigating English literature and media.

4. Podcasts and Songs

Teachers can offer listening exercises in their curriculums by using English podcasts and songs.

This method exposes students to a variety of accents, speaking speeds, and vocabulary in a natural context.

After listening, students can engage in activities like writing summaries or answering questions about what they heard.

These post-listening tasks are crucial for enhancing their comprehension and retention.

This approach is great at improving listening skills while making the learning process more enjoyable and relatable.

By regularly interacting with authentic English content, students develop a better ear for the language and learn to appreciate its rhythm and nuances in different forms of media.

This not only aids in language acquisition but also connects them culturally to the English-speaking world.

Check out the guide below for a list of the BEST English podcasts!

Related Article: Best Podcasts to Learn the English Language in 2024 (Top 10)

5. Video Diaries

This one encourages students to create short video diaries as a regular assignment.

This task provides them with a platform to practice speaking about a variety of topics in English.

Whether they choose to talk about their daily life, share opinions on current events, or discuss their hobbies, these video diaries offer a unique opportunity for students to engage actively with the language.

This activity not only improves their spoken English skills but also significantly boosts their confidence in using the language.

It helps them to overcome any hesitation or fear of speaking by providing a safe, personal space to express themselves.

The process of recording and watching their own videos can also be a powerful tool for self-evaluation and progress tracking.

This innovative approach to language learning empowers students to become more fluent and self-assured English speakers.

6. Role-play in Real-world Scenarios

Ask your students to prepare role-plays that mimic real-world scenarios, such as shopping, ordering food, or making appointments.

This practical approach to learning takes them beyond the confines of traditional classroom exercises and immerses them in everyday situations. T

Through role-playing, students get to practice conversational English in a structured yet dynamic context.

It allows them to apply their language skills in practical situations, enhancing their ability to communicate effectively in real-life settings.

This method is particularly effective in familiarizing them with common phrases and vocabulary used in daily interactions.

Additionally, role-playing can be a fun and interactive way to learn, helping to reduce the anxiety often associated with speaking a new language.

By engaging in these simulated experiences, students gain confidence and fluency, which are crucial for their overall language development.

7. Grammar Worksheets

This is a classic form of homework for ESL students, to offer them worksheets that concentrate on specific grammar points, such as verb tenses, sentence structure, or prepositions.

Regular practice with these worksheets is instrumental in solidifying their understanding of English grammar.

This methodical approach allows students to focus on one aspect of grammar at a time, ensuring a thorough grasp of each concept.

Such targeted exercises help correct common mistakes and deepen their comprehension of the language’s structure.

By consistently working through these grammar worksheets, students build a strong grammatical foundation, which is vital for effective English communication.

This foundational knowledge enhances their writing and speaking skills and boosts their confidence in correctly using the language in various contexts.

For some tips on how to teach grammar to ESL students, we’ve put together a guide to help teachers everywhere!

Related Article: How to Teach Grammar to ESL Students – Teacher’s Guide

8. Online Games

Motivate your students to engage with educational language games available online.

These games offer a fun, interactive way to learn and practice English.

Students can improve various language skills through game-based learning, including vocabulary, grammar, reading, and even listening comprehension.

The interactive nature of these games makes the learning process more enjoyable and less intimidating, especially for younger learners or beginners.

As students play, they receive immediate feedback on their performance, which helps reinforce correct usage and understanding.

This approach enhances their language skills and keeps them motivated and engaged in their learning.

Online language games provide a dynamic and enjoyable way to supplement traditional learning methods, making language practice an activity that students can look forward to.

For some ideas of classroom games, both traditional and digital, check out the guide below!

Related Article: Fun Classroom Games to Play – Teacher’s Guide

9. Book Club

Another great idea is to start a book club in your class, where students can read and discuss a common book.

This collaborative activity enhances their reading skills and promotes critical thinking and group discussion skills in English.

Choosing books that are appropriate for their language level, the book club encourages students to dive into stories and themes, expanding their vocabulary and comprehension.

Discussing the book with their peers allows them to share perspectives, articulate their thoughts, and engage in meaningful conversations in English.

This interactive and social approach to learning also builds a sense of community among the students, making English learning a shared and enjoyable experience.

The book club thus becomes a platform for growth, not just in language proficiency but also in cognitive and social skills.

10. Pen Pal Program

The tenth great homework idea for ESL students is to start a pen pal program with English-speaking individuals from different parts of the world.

This initiative provides a unique opportunity for students to engage in regular written communication with native English speakers.

Through exchanging letters or emails, students practice their writing skills in a real-world context, learning to express their thoughts and ideas clearly in English.

This regular interaction not only improves their language proficiency but also offers valuable insights into different cultures and lifestyles, enhancing their cultural understanding and global awareness.

The pen pal program is more than just a language exercise; it’s a bridge that connects students across cultures, promoting international friendships and broadening their perspectives.

This kind of cultural exchange can be a highly rewarding and motivating experience, encouraging students to apply their language skills in meaningful and authentic interactions.

You can reach out to other teachers on platforms like LinkedIn and see if they would be willing to start a pen pal initiative for both them and your students.

The homework ideas presented for ESL students transcend the traditional concept of assignments.

They are designed as interactive learning experiences that not only build language skills but do so in a way that is practical, enjoyable, and highly effective.

Integrating these varied activities into the ESL curriculum allows teachers to cultivate a dynamic and nurturing learning environment.

Such an approach encourages students to actively engage with the English language, not just within the confines of the classroom but in their everyday lives as well.

Promoting this kind of immersive learning experience makes students more likely to develop a lasting proficiency and a genuine appreciation for the language.

These activities, therefore, play a crucial role in shaping confident, competent English speakers who are prepared to navigate the global landscape.

We hope you find value in this article; let us know if you require any assistance.

Have a wonderful day!

Image Attribution: All images licensed via canva.com

Don’t miss out!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Learn Spanish, teach TEFL English

ESL Worksheets
Teach English

The best ESL / EFL homework ideas that require no marking 2021

April 9th, 2018 / Materials

Homework is an important part of study, but it can be overwhelming for a TEFL teacher with a mountain of exercise books to mark.

To avoid this, smart ESL teachers should set some (if not, the bulk) of their ESL homework assignments as independent study which the teacher does not have to correct.

Why set no-marking ESL homework?

First of all, you are not short-changing your students by asking them to go out and learn some English themselves.

Languages are an enormous subject ; there is no way that you could teach your students everything they need to know in the few hours a week they have with you.

In reality, if your students want to get good at English, they must listen, read, watch and practice the language in their own time.

No-marking assignments have benefits for class time also. Students can recap on the last class or prepare for the next one by watching grammar videos.

Teachers can use material from a podcast or video as the basis of a speaking activity.

This is why, I believe, that TEFL teachers set a no-marking study assignment at least once a week. It’s better for your students, your classes and your own sanity.

The following assignments have been divided into: Listening, Reading, Writing Grammar, Vocabulary and Pronunciation . First up, listening

Pin it for later

Listening assignments

Podcasts are a great way to practice comprehension. In additional, the material can be used for speaking practice the following lesson as students share with each other what they have learnt from the episode.

Mistakes to avoid when choosing a podcast

Do not choose a podcast that is too long. Four to 10 minutes is the sweet spot – anything longer your students will get confused and the task will become a chore.

Do not choose a podcast which speaks unnaturally slowly or with a childish topic. Students need to get used to the normal pace of speaking and how native speakers actually use the language. OK, so granted, ESL podcasts do have to be simpler but anything that is overly contrived is a waste of your students’ time.

Do not use a website that requires flash player to play an MP3. Access to any homework material should be really, really easy or you’ll find that half your students won’t complete the assignment.

The best ESL Podcasts

BBC 6 Minute English

Lower-intermediate to upper-intermediate British

This is without doubt the best EFL podcast on the list and the one that I use time and time again. Updated weekly, Six minute English provides fun and interesting ESL podcasts on topics such as culture, technology, travel, business and more. They’ll always include at least three new phrases to learn and after listening, students can check their understanding with the transcript.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english

Podcasts in English

Elementary to Intermediate British

The first homework is www.podcastsinenglish .com. This site provides free three to five minute podcasts for English learners for beginner, intermediate and upper-intermediate level. To practice comprehension and expand vocabulary, tell your students to listen to two podcasts a week and write a summary of what they hear. To do this effectively, they’ll have to listen a few times.

Negative: The podcasts are free but to read the transcript students must pay for the premium version.

https://www.podcastsinenglish.com

Upper-intermediate-advanced American

CNN 10 is not an TEFL podcast, it is a real news show which condenses world news for that day down to 10 minutes. Despite this, it provides a great way for higher-level students to practice their listening skills while keeping abreast or world news. The video can be accessed in the CNN app and students can read the full transcript afterwards to check their understanding.

Negative: Not made for ESL and so speech can be fast.

https://edition.cnn.com/cnn10

Elementary to Intermediate Variable

Elllo provides thousands of free English video lessons and ESL podcasts on everyday English conversation. The podcasts consist of a dialogue between two people about an everyday topic. They are short and sweet but there are thousands of them and so you could ask your students to do one a day without much time commitment from them.

The best thing about ELLLO podcasts is that students can check their understanding with the transcript AND a quiz.

Negative: Podcasts are under three minutes.

http://www.elllo.org

Upper intermediate-advanced Variable

TED provides thousands of videos about technology, education, politics, science and culture.

In my experience setting a TED talk for homework can be hit and miss. Sometimes I’d set a TED video and everyone would love it and other times they’d complain that it was too long, too fast or too confusing to understand.

TED is still a great resource but when choosing a talk for homework this is my advice:

Choose a video which is no more than 10 minutes long. You can separate talks by duration, topic and language in the talk tab.

Check that the speaker isn’t speaking too fast and the accent isn’t too thick (native speakers are best).

Another way to do this is to choose a theme such as ‘business’ ‘finance’ ‘or ‘crime’ and ask your students to select and watch a TED video on the subject. Centre your following class around this theme and give your students 10 to 15 minutes to recount their video to their partners. This is a great way to reinforce the lesson vocabulary and engage your students with the topic.

https://www.ted.com

TED ED: A much better choice!

A much better choice of listening is TED ED. TED Ed is full of short educational videos about science, culture and history. You’re students will be able to follow the listening much better because along with the speaker’s voice there are animations to help tell the story.

Best of all the videos are only five minutes long and so it’s a homework activity that everyone has time to do.

https://ed.ted.com/

ESL Lounge provides short readings and gap fill exercises divided into elementary, pre-intermediate, intermediate, upper-intermediate and advanced. Students can check their understanding with a quiz at the end.

http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/reading.php

Five Minute English

Five minute English also provides short reading exercises. All activities come with a glossary of new words and a quiz at the end so your students can check their understanding. The only drawback is that the readings are not defined by level.

http://www.5minuteenglish.com/reading.htm

Grammar review

Viewing video lessons to either recap on the last grammar class or prepare for the next one is another highly productive no-marking homework activity.

Here are the best grammar video resources.

ENGVID Provides bite-sized video lessons on most aspects of English grammar and lots of vocabulary points. Students can also read a transcript of the lesson and check their understanding with a quiz on their website.

https://www.engvid.com

Let’s Talk: Youtube

You need it, you’ll find it here. This Youtube channel has hundreds of videos on every aspect of the English language.

Grammar and vocabulary quizzes

If you’ve just finished a grammar topic, setting your students a few grammar quizzes is a good way to review the lesson. There are dozens of grammar quiz sites out there, but proceed with caution: many of these sites are spammy with annoying adverts and pop ups all over the page. They are difficult to navigate for a native speaker never mind a student.

The BBC also offers a comprehensive library of grammar resources and quizzes for English learners. However, I haven’t included them in the list because you need a flash player to use them.

The websites I have selected also have adverts but they are not invasive. They have also established sites within the TEFL community.

Dave’s ESL Café (grammar)

This site provides a meeting point for TEFL teachers to ask and answer questions and share resources. A little known fact is that Dave’s ESL Café also boasts hundreds of quizzes on various grammar and vocabulary points, written by teachers.

http://www.eslcafe.com/quiz

ESL-lounge (grammar)

ESL-lounge is another well-known site for TEFL resources, it also has a library of grammar quizzes for students.

http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/

British Council Teens (vocabulary)

The best vocabulary quiz I have found comes from The British Council Teens site. Here users must match pictures and words together to learn vocabulary. All words come with an audio so students can check their pronunciation.

http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/grammar-vocabulary/vocabulary-exercises

Writing is an essential skill and, as a TEFL teacher, you must set and mark writing assignments.

But what if there were a way for students to practice writing independently as well?

Well, there is.

Do you remember when you were learning French or Spanish at school and your teachers encouraged you to start a correspondence with a foreign pen pal to improve your language skills?

Well, the concept still exists. If a few of the class take it up, it can also become an interesting weekly speaking practice as you catch up on the news from their pen friends, and as a group, correct the grammar and spelling on their next correspondence.

Popular Pen Pal sites

http://www.penpalworld.com

https://www.globalpenfriends.com

https://www.penpalsnow.com/index.html

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is often the blight of an ESL class. Bad pronunciation should be corrected , but if you have a large class it is often difficult to give that one-on-one attention to a student who is really struggling to improve.

This is why asking your students to watch pronunciation videos and practice in their own time is a worthwhile homework exercise. Here are some of the best sites to learn.

Rachel’s English: Accent American

Rachel’s English undoubtedly provides one of the most comprehensive pronunciation resources on the web. Rachel will walk your students through all of the sounds in the English language. In addition, she has videos on the rhythm of English, elision (when speakers drop vowel sounds as they link words together in a sentence) and common idioms.

http://rachelsenglish.com

Youglish: Accent International

Youglish uses YouTube to teach the pronunciation of any English word. Simply write the word into the search bar and Youglish will bring up a snippet of a video with someone using it. It is truly brilliant.

https://youglish.com

BBC Learning English Pronunciation Guide: Accent British

Teacher Jamie teaches students all the common sounds in the English language.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation

For more on pronunciation, check out our pronunciation http://bilinguanation.com/english-pronunciation-activities-for-your-esl-class/ guide.

Cambridge PET, FCE, CAE Exam

If your students want to sit the Cambridge English exam then they can find everything they need to prepare with Flo-Joe.com. Here students will find a rich archive of free listening, reading, speaking and writing papers from each exam level. Listening and reading exams come with their own answer keys for self-correction. The writing paper, however, will have to be corrected by the teacher and speaking practice done in class.

https://www.flo-joe.co.uk

If your students are taking the IELTS exam, here are three resource sites where students can practice with past papers, complete with an answer key. Again any writing practice will have to be corrected by the teacher and speaking practice done in class.

https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare-test/british-council-online-resources

https://www.ieltsbuddy.com

https://ieltsforfree.com/

So these are my go-to sites for no-marking TEFL assignments. Have a I missed one? Do you know of an amazing podcast or ESL resource site that could benefit your fellow ESL teachers? Write it in the comments below and if it’s good I’ll include it in the list.

For more resource sites check out Free TEFL resource sites for your ESL students. Good luck and happy teaching!

SPREAD THE LOVE

Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Topics: esl homework esl homework ideas for adults esl homework worksheets esl resource sites homework ideas for teachers teaching english teaching esl TEFL speaking activities

New to TEFL? Earn your living teaching great ESL classes

Get started today and discover a skill that will serve you for the rest of your life.

IMAGES

5 Ideas for Making Homework More Meaningful
Back to School: Fun Homework Ideas
10 Helpful Homework Ideas and Tips for Primary School Teachers
Here's How to Make Homework Meaningful
1000+ images about Homework on Pinterest
How to Give Meaningful Homework, Even When It's Not Graded

VIDEO

holiday homework ideas #part 1#easy #aradhya #craftworld
Holiday homework ideas #shreyansh 8917#shyam creations
Episode 3: Bill Details Three Criteria of Meaningful Homework
Make Homework MEANINGFUL!!!

COMMENTS

13 Ways to Make Homework More Meaningful and Engaging
The brain loves to do tasks in contexts with which it is familiar. 7. Allow students to collaborate in determining how homework will be assessed. If they help design the criteria for success, such as when they create the rubric for an assignment, they "own" the assignment.
Making Homework Meaningful
June 22, 2012. One thing that teaches the lessons of accountability, responsibility, diligence and an appreciation for knowledge is homework. Every student has to do it, and for most kids, it is a necessity in order to do well in school. But its usefulness and whether it's taken seriously are always topics of conversation among students.
What is Meaningful Homework?
Biggest waste of time. Meaningful homework means rethinking the entire practice. Moving away from the routine of homework allows us to reflect on the what, when, and why to create strategic, relevant, and purposeful assignments. Meaningful homework is the result of intentional, regular reflective conversations that happen over time.
How to Give Meaningful Homework, Even When It's Not Graded
Most will. Some will do it on the nightly homework, some will do it when studying for the test, but the students who want to do well will always do extra when they're struggling. 3. Don't grade it, but still kinda grade it. Many teachers used to grade homework only on completion and that inflated students' grades.
Make Homework Meaningful & Manageable with Menus
Homework should: •Give students a chance to review skills they are comfortable with and can practice independently. •Give them an opportunity to do what they enjoy. •Give students a chance to be successful at home with academics. •Help children see connections between what they do in school and the real world.
11 Vocabulary Homework Ideas And How To Motivate Students To ...
Teachers should also make it clear that homework is a meaningful formative assessment where both they and their students can understand what students know and where there are knowledge gaps. Step Three. Third, some students may be quite unhappy when being mandated to do specific work. Therefore, teachers should stress the choices a student gets ...
Five Hallmarks of Good Homework
The Fundamental Five. The best homework tasks exhibit five characteristics. First, the task has a clear academic purpose, such as practice, checking for understanding, or applying knowledge or skills. Second, the task efficiently demonstrates student learning. Third, the task promotes owner ship by offering choices and being personally relevant.
10 Helpful Homework Ideas and Tips for Primary School Teachers
Homework ideas… Yep, I'm going there! It is always a hot topic of debate between everyone involved in the education field. Here at Teach Starter, we want to help you ensure that the homework you set meaningful and manageable for your students, their parents and yourself! Deciding on how to set homework, or whether to set homework at all, can be hard when there are so many different ...
Top 7 English Homework Tips for Teachers, Students and Parents
7 ways to create meaningful English homework. Tips for teachers, parents and students. ENGLISH HOMEWORK TIP 1: Bin the Busy Work! ENGLISH HOMEWORK TIP 2: Make The Homework Fit for Purpose. YEAR LONG DIGITAL READING LOG / DIARY. ENGLISH HOMEWORK TIP 3: Set Time Limits. ENGLISH HOMEWORK TIP 4: Give Timely Feedback.
Creative Homework Ideas
Creative Homework Ideas. Learn Bright Lessons include many creative ideas for classroom instruction and student learning. Students are asked to work independently or with their peers, fostering their collaboration skills. Of course, the lessons also include many traditional learning exercises. Such as, multiple-choice questions, matching, fill ...
4 Ways To Make Meaningful Homework Assignments For Students
3. Help students practice and apply new skills. Another way to make homework more meaningful is to have students practice and apply new skills. For example, have students write a paragraph about what they learned in class, or solve a math problem that is more difficult than the one they did in class. 4. Require students to turn in their homework.
15 Innovative School Homework Design Ideas for Teachers
1. Make it Relevant and Meaningful. Connect the school homework to their lives, interests, or current events to make it more meaningful and relatable. For example, if it's Christmas time, you can ask your students to explore the themes of charity, storytelling, etc. 2.
20+ creative alternative homework ideas for teachers
2. Make a board game. This is definitely one of the most creative homework assignments. Let your students come up with an idea for a board game about the lesson content. They have to make cards, and pawns, draw, write, cut, and paste. They have to use their imagination and inventive ideas to create a coherent board game. Click to open.
Reading Homework: Making it Meaningful
By OneStopTeacherShop. As a teacher, I always made it my goal to make sure everything I did, or made my students do, was meaningful. Whether it be reading homework, math centers, or morning work, I didn't like wasting time; my time, or my students' time. In addition, I always liked to know that real learning was taking place.
5 Ideas to Make Homework Meaningful
Quizalize posted an infographic on Twitter that explains five ways teachers can make homework more meaningful. 4 O'clock Faculty created the graphic, which you can see below. The key components of making homework meaningful are to make the assignments voluntary, differentiate the type of homework different students receive, create options for ...
Homework Ideas for Elementary Teachers: Save Time and Make Learning
The third tip on this list of homework ideas is to save time by teaming up with the other teacher(s) at your grade level. ... Homework will be easier for you and more meaningful for your students. The homework assignments will be systematic and routine so parents and students will always know exactly what the expectations are and understand the ...
Reading Response Homework That's Fun!
In this notebook students work with one passage all week (3-4 nights). Passages will vary, depending on skills and strategies we are working on in class. Genres will also vary. We will assign literature, informational text, poetry, or excerpts from longer pieces of text. Later in the year, we will assign two passages on the same topic or by the ...
11 Time-Saving & Engaging ESL Homework Ideas
1.Read A Short Story Or Short Book Chapter. Reading is the foundation of the StoryLearning method and makes for the perfect ESL homework idea. Instead of spending time reading in class, get the students to do it between classes. They can find a quiet time to read the story or chapter as many times as they like.
Setting meaningful homework for ESL learners
Interesting and meaningful homework assignments - Our top picks. 1. Quick survey: Have students do mini surveys at the end of class in groups with maybe 5 -10 questions depending on their level. They should then ask the questions and complete the survey ready to report back their findings.
13 Entertaining ESL Homework Ideas to Keep Your Students Engaged
13. Go on a Photo Scavenger Hunt. Give individual students or groups of up to three students a list of items to find on their homework scavenger hunt. But instead of being specific in your list (for example, including items such as cat), be descriptive in your list.
Homework for ESL Students
These ESL homework ideas are designed to enhance language learning and engage students both in and out of the classroom: Daily journaling, vocabulary flashcards, reading comprehension, listening to podcasts/songs, video diaries, role-play scenarios, grammar worksheets, online games, book club discussions, and a pen pal program.
The best ESL / EFL homework ideas that require no marking 2021
No-marking assignments have benefits for class time also. Students can recap on the last class or prepare for the next one by watching grammar videos. Teachers can use material from a podcast or video as the basis of a speaking activity. This is why, I believe, that TEFL teachers set a no-marking study assignment at least once a week.
17 Meaningful Homework ideas
Jan 8, 2014 - Explore Region 13 School Ready's board "Meaningful Homework", followed by 1,404 people on Pinterest. See more ideas about classroom books, family involvement, homework folder.